Path of the Fox
by Look a Microwave
Summary: Everyone knows Naruto as the orange idiot Shinobi of Konoha, but what if, after a beating had a chance meeting with one of the Three Paws of Kumo? What would change? Narutoharem, Review, M for future violence and maaaaaaybe lemon.
1. A Meeting between Foxes

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

Konoha is a very pretty place, especially at night. The entire city is surrounded by tall oak trees created by the founder, Hashirama Senju, or the Shodai Hokage with the Mokuton, giving the village the name Konohagakure. This village had produced great and powerful shinobi, from the powerful Sannin, to the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

However, the most famous of all of the heroes of Konoha is none other than the Konoha no Kiiro Senko, or the Yondaime Hokage, a man who had single handedly destroyed armies of invading shinobi in seconds during the Third Shinobi World War. But his greatest accomplishment was one that cost him his own life. The defeat of the Kyuubi no Yoko on October 10th.

While many know it as fact that the Kyuubi was defeated by the Yondaime, few know that to defeat the demon fox, he had to use the Shiki Fuin, a seal which by using the powers of the Shinigami himself to seal away another for eternity.

On that fateful night, the Yondaime not only sealed half of the beast inside himself, but also the other half into the newborn baby, Naruto.

The Yondaime knew that the Shinigami could only seal half of the demonic being, so with his last breathe; he sealed the rest of the beast's yang chakra into the boy. His wish was for the boy to be seen as a hero, and as his legacy, to stand for all the people that gave their lives on that fateful day.

This brings us to the present, 6 years after the Kyuubi attack, where a young boy with spiky blond hair, bright blue eyes, and three whisker marks on each cheek, was running for his life from an angry mob of villagers.

Needless to say the fourth's wish had gone unheeded as many of the villagers and ninja pleaded for the boys execution, believing that he was the Kyuubi in human form. The only thing that had kept them at bay was the reinstated, Sandaime Hokage, who soon after the boy's status was released issued a law stating that those who were old enough to remember the Kyuubi attack were never to speak of it on penalty of death. While this stopped the populous from outright demanding the child's death, they soon found ways of going around the rule, by blacklisting him from shops and restaurants, forbidding their children from socializing with him, and the weekly beating, that with the help of the civilian court, went mostly unpunished.

In Naruto's opinion, October 10th, his birthday, was the worst of all the days in the year combined. The day of the festival was the day the ANBU were too preoccupied to watch over him, and for some reason the villagers hate was higher than normal. These were the days he was normally sent to the hospital for more than a week.

'Why?' thought the abused child as he ran down an alley with the mob close behind him. "THERE HE IS!" Screamed a woman with pink hair, "TIME TO FINISH WHAT OUR BELOVED HOKAGE STARTED!" she raised her fist causing the crowd to yell in approval.

'Nonono I can't get caught again' thought the blond as he took another left quickly realizing that it was a dead end. 'Shit"

The crowd circled around him with knives, rocks, anything that could do damage and began their assault. Naruto, long ago had come up with ways to cope with the pain of being hated for something he did not even know by smiling, playing pranks, and basically putting on the mask of the 'baka' but tonight, the pain felt especially worse and as he looked up to the faces of his a attackers, he was able to push out the words, "W-Why do you h-h-hate me?"

"BECAUSE YOU'RE A DEMON THAT'S WHY!" yelled one of the villagers with unmasked hatred, "YOU ARE THE REASON MY DAUGHTERS DEAD! BUT NOW I AM FINNALLY GOING TO GET REVENGE!" The man then took out a large kitchen knife and stabbed it through Naruto's chest as the crowd cheered in approval.

As Naruto felt the warm liquid fall down his body, he collapsed and was about to ask again when he felt a heat coming at his back. He looked but was too late as a medium sized fireball engulfed him in red embers. Naruto's screams of pain only seemed to excite the villagers as they cheered on the chunin, who had fired off a **Gokakyo no Justu** at the defenseless child.

Naruto could feel that he was in a lot more pain than normal, from what he could tell he had a broken arm, a punctured lung, and a couple of broken ribs, not to mention the 1st and 2nd degree burns he had all over his body. With bloody tears in his eyes, he slowly drifted to unconsciousness.

As a villager tried to deliver a finishing blow, the pink haired leader stopped him, "No, we cant kill him, even though he deserves to die we can't be assumed as the killers. It has to die on its own." She looked down at the bloody heap of the 'demon' before pointing at two chunin. "You two take the child away from the village and leave him. Then remove any trace you have on you of this deed and return."

The two ninja nodded before grabbing the child and leaving in a puff of smoke. The woman then turned to the rest of the mob, "The rest of you return to your homes and rejoice, tonight we celebrate the true death of the Kyuubi.

* * *

><p>'Bored, bored, bored bored, BORED!' These were the thoughts of a young man walking through the land of Hi no Kuni.<p>

The man was around 6 1' in his late twenties. He had toned skin with wild uncombed brown hair. His face was jagged with stubble and his eyes were a dull hazel. His attire was composed of a pair of standard shinobi pants with a matching jonin vest, tan boots, fingerless gloves with metal guards, and to top it all off, a red and white coat with the kanji for "fox" on the back. This man was Rakki Samayou, member of the Kumo no san-Soku.

'Why did I have to walk through Hi no Huni to get to Yu, I could have easily just taken a fairy from Taki. I could have stayed another night and found some…entertainment' complained Rakki as he trudged through the unending sea of trees. He looked up at the night sky, 'Well at least it is a nice night' he thought with a smile.

He had always loved nature, even before he became a ninja. He took in the smells of the forest. He loved the smell of the bark, the dew, the flowers, the …

He paused, 'Dried Blood?' Instantly he was on the alert. Highly trained calculative eyes darted from left to right as he surveyed his surroundings while he pinpointed the smells location. As soon as he had located the source of the smell he moved silently over to the clearing, but what he saw caused his eyes to widen in horror and shock.

Before him was a boy no older then 5 or 6, crucified to two pieces of wood with dried blood, and burns covering his skin. The boys hair was a dirty blonde which had bits and pieces burned off, while his clothes were nothing but shreds of burned clothe. But the most defined feature was the three whisker marks on his cheeks.

'Kami what the hell happened here!' as he rushed towards the unconscious boy. Without wasting a moment's hesitation, he removed the boy from the cross and began to work. You could never really be a good ninja if you did not know how to heal yourself.

As Rakki examined the boy he felt that something was wrong. 'From the damage it looks like this boy took, it should be a lot worse, he shouldn't even be alive.' Rakki scowled at the thought of what had happened to this child and decided that it would be beneficial to take the kid away from the area. After all, waking up in a place surrounded by your own blood is not a pleasant experience.

To throw off any trackers, Rakki placed some false tracks, looking as if wild animals found him and used him as a welcomed snack. 'If this is any indication, doesn't look like the boy is very wanted where he is from. It would be better if the thought he was dead.' Thought Rakki as he finished the false tracks. He then picked up the boy, and jumped into the trees.

* * *

><p>Rakki was confused for the umpteenth time that night as he looked at the bandaged sleeping child by the fire. When Rakki had arrived at his present location, from his examination the boy had 2nd degree burns all over his skin, a couple of broken ribs and a shattered foot. Now two hours after, the burns had all but subsided, his ribs were completely repaired and his foot was slowly healing itself. Even the boy's hair had grown back to replace the burned spots and all Rakki had done was clean and bandage the wounds.<p>

This all screamed one word through the young man's mind, 'Jinchuriki'. That would explain the beating and why it had happened, but the question was which one. From Intel he knew that Taki had one but they were too far away, the two in Kiri were much older, and the Ichibi Jinchuriki would not let others even touch his container.

Rakki looked at the boy once again hopping that he could get even the slightest piece of information. But sadly, he was at a loss. He looked up at the night sky for a moment before unsealing some fish he had caught earlier that day.

"Well" sighed Rakki as he cut prepared the fish, "He probably won't want to talk on an empty stomach."

* * *

><p>The first thing that awoke Naruto was the smell of something delicious. He creaked open his eyes and was surprised to find he was not in the normal hospital room he would normally wake up to after a beating. Why surveying the area, his eyes soon passed over a young man wearing a red and white coat leaning over a small campfire. This only served to scare Naruto even more. Where was Jiji? What had happened? Was he in the village anymore? What was that heavenly smell?<p>

It was at that moment the man looked straight into Naruto's eyes. They did not have the hatred that most eyes of the villagers had; they had a warm glow that seemed show kindness and warmth, more like Jiji's or the Ichirakus. That said man then picked up a cooked fish and tried to give it to Naruto.

"You know it would be easier to heal if you had something in your stomach", he said with a smile. Naruto did nothing but stare at the fish, causing the man to pout. "Come on, it wont kill you. Look", he then proceeded to take a bite out of said fish.

Gathering his courage, Naruto slowly reached out and grabbed the fish. He took a deep breath, and then took a huge bite, 'Well if it is poisoned, I might as well not die hungry too.' His eyes widened after the first bite and he screamed, "This is Great!" and proceeded to devour the fish.

Rakki chuckled at the boys hunger, watching as he ate like he hadn't in weeks. 'Probably hasn't' spoke a voice in his head which caused him to frown.

When the boy had finished eating three fish, he finally looked at the man and said, "Ano, but who are you?"

Rakki smirked and said, "Samayou Rakki", with a hint of pride, "and who might you be?"

The boy gave him a fox like grin and said, "Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, and Future Ninja"

The boys last name caused Rakki's eyes to widen, 'Uzumaki? Could this kid be related to the Akai Chishio no Habanero?' He had had the unpleasant privilege of meeting the woman in battle. She was with no doubt a powerful shinobi, and had sent him home with a broken arm. Something not very common when you are considered to be on of the top ninja in the village.

He took the time to examin the boy again. While the boy's supposed mother had been a red haired, fair-skinned woman, this boy looked nothing like her in the sorts. The boy had tan-skin, blonde hair, and…bright blue eyes? This caused Rakki's eyebrow to rise. There were not that many people with blue eyes in this world, the only blonde haired, blue-eyed person that he knew of that had come out of Konoha was…The YONDAIME HOKAGE!

How could he have not seen it before? This boy was basically a chibi version of him. If the Habanero and the Konoha no Kiiro Senko had had a child, he would be the most powerful ninja in the world. Also with his junchuriki status, no man in his right mind would want to mess with him.

But this raised another question, if he was the son of the so-called, Hero of Konoha, then why was he hated. Obviously the Yondaime had kept his child's birth a secret, if Iwa had known they would have sent an entire army to kill the kid. This means that the hatred of the kid had to be because of his Jinchiriki status, with the only biju for Konoha to ever hold, the Kuuybi no Yoko.

"Rakki-san, Rakki-san, RAKKI-SAN!" screamed Naruto as he had watched the man stare into space for close to a minute, which for him was almost an eternity.

"Hm?" shaken out of his stupor, Rakki replied. He then gave a sheepish grin and said, "Sorry must have been thinking too hard".

Naruto gave him a mock glare, then looked around and asked, "Where am I and how did I get here?" Rakki adopted a sad look while he poked the fire with a stick, "I found you out here, beaten to a pulp, then crucified to a stake".

Naruto looked down to his feet with a shadow over his eye. "Oh", he shakily replied. Rakki knew that he should not ask but he had to know. "Does…does this happen a lot?"

It was silent for a few moments before he said in a quiet voice, "Yes…but I am getting used to it". This caused Rakki to subconsciously grit his teeth and ball his fists. No child should get used to being hated and hurt.

"Don't you have a guardian or something to watch over you?" said Rakki, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.

Naruto just shook his head, "No, I know that Hokage-jiji and the Ichirakus care for me, but there is little that they can do with Jiji in the office and Ichirakus in business. The ANBU jiji has that watch me sometimes help, but they only come to stop the fatal attacks, then leave".

Rakki was boiling with rage. No one, especially a child should have to deal with this. He was prepared to go to Konoha right now and massacre the entire populous.

"But the worse part is…" Rakki stopped his planning on killing everyone in Konoha to look at the boy, and when he saw his tears, all the rage dissipated. "I don't even know why", said Naruto as tears began to fall down his face, "They blame me for killing people I don't remember, doing things that I don't know, they blame me and call me a demon for things I wish I knew. If I did know I would apologize, but when I asked Jiji, he would avoid the question, and when I ask the mob, they just call me a demon and hit me harder."

Rakki looked at the almost broken child in front of him. A child who had seen things that others nightmares could not hold a candle to. He knew he had to help; he would not let this kid go back to that. He gained an impassive look on his face and spoke in a smooth, soft voice, "Do you want to know why?"

Immediately Naruto's head was up with a look of shock on his face. "Y-y-you know, and you'll t-t-tell me?" said Naruto the tears beginning to fall again. Rakki nodded his head, "Only if you want to know". Naruto pondered the question for a long minute before nodding for Rakki to continue.

"What do you know about the Kyuubi?" asked Rakki. "Not much other than it was killed by the Yondaime," said Naruto as he tilted his head in confusion.

Rakki shook his head, "No one can kill a tailed beast Naruto, since they are just large masses of chakra, and no one can kill chakra. The only way to defeat a biju is to seal it."

Naruto eyes widened in realization as Rakki continued, "The Yondaime used a special sealing technique to seal away the Kyuubi into a living vessel, a vessel whose chakra pathways are still developing, in other words…"

"M-me" Naruto stuttered, but then looked down and said with a broken voice, "I guess I really am a demon" only to be slapped upside the head by Rakki. "Never say that again", Said Rakki with a steel gaze, "I may not have known you for a long time, but from what I can see, you are not a giant, bloodthirsty, chakra beast. You are Uzumaki Naruto, a young boy who has been hated for absolutely no good reason."

Naruto stared at Rakki for what seemed like hours, before a small genuine smile, one which not even Jiji or the Ichirakus had seen, appeared on his face. "Thank you", he said, before tackling Rakki into a hug. He was surprised at first when the kid had hugged him, but he soon shook it off and hugged him back.

"Now", said Rakki as he put Naruto back down and patted the dirt off is coat. "I am going to make you a once in a lifetime offer kit" Rakki said with a grin, "How would you like to be a ninja?"

Naruto's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. All his life he had wanted to be a ninja, to gain the respect and love of the village. 'But if I go and train with Rakki-san, I won't be a ninja for Konoha' thought Naruto which caused him to frown. But would he really want to be in charge of protecting the people who hurt him, even if he would put everything on the line to save Jiji or the Ichirakus, would he do it to save the rest of the villagers?

Naruto thought of what Jiji would tell him if he was also here. The words, "Do what will make you happy" came to mind, and he would surely be a lot happier training to be a ninja away from all of the hatred.

Naruto closed his eyes before opening with a new determined look. "Hai, I will go with you Rakki-sensei".

"Ma ma", said Rakki putting his hands up in defense, "I'm not all for that respect stuff kit, Rakki will just be fine".

"Hai Rakki" said Naruto as he gave his new teacher a fox grin. Rakki smiled at this the looked to the stars. "Well Kit, you better get some rest. Tomorrow we leave this forsaken land and start your path to becoming one kick-ass shinobi of Kumo."

Naruto nodded before moving back to the sleeping bag, falling asleep almost instantly. Rakki smiled at the sleeping kid before moving his gaze towards Konoha.

"Today marks the day that Konohagakure fell as the strongest of the elemental nation. You will soon know the great treasure you have lost, when your shinobi cringe in fear when the name, Naruto is spoken. Remember this day Konoha, for this is the day that Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto began his rise towards greatness."

* * *

><p>It had been two days since the festival and Hiruzen Starobi, Sandaime of Konoha, was in his office filling out a seemingly endless pile of paperwork. 'Why do I need to sign off about what kind of dog food the Inuzuka clan feeds their dogs with?' But this was not the reason he was upset.<p>

He had not been able to go see Naruto for his birthday; he had even gotten him an orange jacket as a gift. He was not worried about the boy, Naruto had made him a promise that he would not leave his apartment all day for his birthday, because he knew that was when the villagers were at their worst.

Sarutobi frowned at the mention of the villagers; they had never liked the boy and along with the civilian council had tried to make Naruto's life a living hell. Sarutobi still remembered the rage he felt when he found out that Naruto had been kicked out of the orphanage and had been living on the street for a year.

The Shinobi council was mixed on the subject of Naruto, while the Inuzuka, Akimichi, Nara, Aburame, and Yamanaka clan tried on many occasions to make Naruto's life a bit better, even Tsume tried to adopt him, the elders, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, along with help from the Hyuga, Uchiha, and the civilian council stopped them and tried to place Naruto under execution for false charges.

Danzo seemed to have his own agenda, always throwing in the idea of Naruto being used as a weapon for Konoha, or in reality, a weapon for Danzo. Hiruzen scowled, 'The day that he gets Naruto is the day that Kakashi and Jiraiya give up porn'.

Deciding that his work was done for the day, Hiruzen walked out of his office to go visit his favorite blonde adopted grandson. As Sarutobi walked through the streets he got nods of respect, which he politely returned, smiling and waving at the children who walked by.

As he neared Naruto's apartment, he spied the new graffiti, of "DIE DEMON" and other messages painted on the wall. Hiruzen sighed and continued to walk up the stairs of the apartment complex, mentally filling to place a D rank mission to clean up the mess.

As he opened the door to the Naruto's apartment, he found that it was unlocked, not surprising because Naruto never locked his door. He peered around the room and found that no one was here. He sighed, 'Naruto must be off doing one of his pranks'. The room itself was quite small, the paint was peeling off, and the floor was covered with dirty clothes.

His eyes stopped when he looked on the table, before slowly widening with horror. On the table was a knocked over cup of cooked ramen. This was bad; Naruto and uneaten ramen were two things that would never be together unless something truly horrible had happened.

Sarutobi's mind instantly went into gear as he searched for any type of trail, when he found one leading out of he apartment he was off. He followed the tracks down the twist and turns of the alleyways until a familiar stench reached his nose, the stench of blood.

As Hiruzen turned the corner, he was greeted with the sight of an alleyway completely covered in dry blood. He quickly surveyed the site, finding lots of ash under a dumpster near the scene.

'Was a Katon justu used on Naruto?' he then found some barely visible tracks of Naruto leaving the area. 'So some of my own shinobi were apart of this hmm. They must have been chunin from how well they covered the tracks. But they did not suspect the I myself would be following the trail.'

Sarutobi pulsed his chakra and three ANBU quickly appeared by his side. "What do you need Hokage-sama" said one with a Neko mask.

"Neko, come with me to follow these tracks, Uma and Taka, go find a medic, I think we will be needing one." Said the Hokage before jumping off in the direction of the tracks with Neko close behind.

'Please be alright Naruto-kun' prayed Hiruzen as he jumped through the trees. After about 2 hours of tracking, the Hokage and his guard reached a handmade cross with dry blood on it.

Hiruzen paled, the blood looked to be a couple of days old while the ropes looked as if they had been ripped off by a wild animal. The animal tracks then proceeded to go deeper into the forest to devour its prey. "Hokage-sama", Neko said, "these tracks are a couple of days old, even if Naruto-san could have survived, and he would have been dead by now. I am truly sorry."

Hiruzen looked down to the ground with a grievous look before saying, "That is fine Neko, when we return to the village, I want you to gather Yuhi Kurenai, Hatake Kakashi, and Maito Gai and tell them to come to my office.

Neko nodded before the team of two started their long trip back to the village. 'Naruto' thought Hiruzen, 'I have not only failed you, but your father as well'.

* * *

><p>This was odd, thought Kakashi as he pondered the Hokage's reasons for having him come to his office. It could not be a mission because he himself had ordered Kakashi to take a break. After Minato-sensei and his child had died, Kakashi had thrown himself completely into his own work, to stop the painful tug of loneliness from returning.<p>

Kakashi had been one of the few besides the Sandaime and Jiraiya to know of the child's birth. He had had so many dreams of watching over the child like his sensei had after Kakashi's own father had killed himself.

He did however follow his late teachers final words to treat the boy with respect, even if it was hard for him to watch over the boy due to his continuous ANBU missions, had even protected the child from drunks and mobs before he could get hurt.

As he entered the Hokage's waiting room, he spotted Maito Gai, his 'eternal rival', and Yuhi Kurenai, a seasoned chunin. Both along with Sarutobi Asuma, who was currently part of the Shogonin Junishi, had been part of team Uzumaki under Kushina Uzumaki. Both her and Minato's teams had begun to train and do missions together when Minato and Kushina had started their secret relationship. Kurenai had often teased that Minato had a thing for Kushina, which everyone had quickly disregarded. That was until, they caught them making out at the training grounds.

After looking around, he nodded a hello, then pulled out his famous Icha Icha and, much to Kurenai's ire, began to giggle pervishly.

However his fun was short lived when the secretary appeared, informing them that the Hokage would see them now. When they entered the office, they were shocked to find that the normal Nin no Kami, whose power was known through out the five nations, was replaced with a sad and tired looking old man.

Gai was the first to regain his composure and responded in his usual tone, "Greetings Hokage-sama, what Youthful task do you have for me and my Youthful comrades!" The Hokage shut his eyes for a moment before opening them and responding, "Gai there is no task you must be doing or will do. I have asked you here to talk to you three of a matter of great importance".

Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow at this before asking, "How great of importance?" "SS rank", spoke the aged kage curtly. The three shinobi instantly stiffened up as Gai adopted his serious face and Kakashi put away his precious Icha Icha.

The Hokage nodded before sending his ANBU out of the office, and activating a silencing seal. He then began to say, "Now I must start with saying that I have not been completely truthful to you these past years". The Kage as he stood up from his chair, turning to look out the window. "6 years ago when you asked if the child of Uzumaki Kushina and Minato Namikaze survived, I admit I lied to you about his death."

The two jonin and one chunins' eyes widened. 'Sensei's Son survived!' Thought Kakashi with a mix of happiness and regret. Happiness for having the chance to repay his teacher, while regret for not being able to help the child earlier.

"Ano Hokage-sama", said Kurenai, who was still in a state of shock upon the revelation, "but who is the child?"

Hiruzen gave her a somber smile, "His name was Uzumaki Naruto, but you might know him better by what the villagers call him, the Demon of Konoha". Kakashi's eyes widened even more before he narrowed them in anger. He had seen the child on a regular basis and could have been able to help him. The horrors he had seen Naruto suffer were the things that he had envisioned protecting him from, and he had done nothing.

Kakashi looked around the room to see how his friends were handling the news. Gai, who normally wore a seemingly too bright smile on his face, was distorted into a mask of pure rage. His hands were fists just itching to pulverize the men responsible for what Naruto had gone through. Kurenai, who normally kept her emotions under control in the workplace, was on the curb of having a breakdown. She had been closer to Kushina then anyone, and had seen her as more of a mother figure. The thought of not being able to help the woman she admired most's child was agonizing.

Then it clicked in Kakashi's head. "Was?" he spoke with barely controlled rage. The Old Kage nodded sadly, "From what we can tell, Naruto was taken out of his home during the festival, beaten to a near death state, which not only was the work of normal weapons, but also Katon Justus, was then removed from the village and crucified for two day, where he most likely died and was taken away by some animal to eat."

That did it. In seconds Kurenai was on the ground sobbing, mumbling about how she had failed her teacher. Gai went to comfort her, but one could see the tears dripping down his face. Kakashi just stood still, still in a state of shock after finding out the way to repay his sensei for his kindness was gone. A lone tear drifted down his unmasked eye.

"I am sorry to tell you this", said the Hokage regaining their attention, "but it is obvious that some of our own shinobi were apart of this. Therefore we must make an example of this to anyone who tries to betray the leaf. You three will go discover who is responsible for this and make them pay dearly, in front of the entire village." Kakashi, Kurenai, and Gai all steeled their gaze, intent on bringing absolute hell to the men who had done this. "Make it gruesome" said the Hokage in a dark voice, "One must know the consequences of disobeying me, the Hokage, and their village. You are dismissed". The three were gone in an instant, trying to be the first to find the murderers so they could have first crack at them.

* * *

><p><span>Akai Chishio no Habanero:<span> The Red Hot-Blooded Hanabero

Kumo no san-Soku: The Three Paws of Cloud

Shogonin Junishi: The Twelve Guardian Shinobi

Nin no Kami: God of Shinobi

**Read and Review. Any Ideas you have will be welcome. I do not promise all of them will go in, but the ones I like will along with the person's ID who recommended it. Feel free to post your ideas in the review**


	2. The Start of Training

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

**Ok it seems like a lot of people liked the First Chapter, so lets hope this one goes over just as well. The entire part at the end i almost for got to put in, so thank you Darkassassin619 for reminding me. Enjoy!**

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc. speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

It had been almost a week since he had left Konoha and Naruto felt great. As soon as they arrived in Yu, they had entered a department store, and after a long and tiring debate on whether or not orange was a proper color for a shinobi, had decided on a wardrobe.

Naruto had chosen to go with a pair of black baggy pants, a dark orange muscle shirt with two shinobi style boots. Rakki could not completely make him give up his favorite color.

When they went to counter, Naruto was a bit frightened. Who wouldn't be when for your entire life, anytime you had tried to buy some food or clothes, you would be chased out with a broom. Naruto looked up at his mentor who sent back a small smile before pushing the kid towards the desk.

Gathering his courage, Naruto, in his new clothes, walked up to the cashier and said, "I would like to buy these clothes cashier-san". The woman looked down at the small blonde in front of her before her eyes widened like dinner plates. In seconds she was around the table and glomping the poor child while screaming, "KAWAIIII!" As soon as Naruto realized what was happening to him, felt the two mounds pressed up against his cheeks and began to blush. This only made the girl squeeze harder at how 'adorable' it was.

Rakki, who had been watching with an agape jaw, soon realized he had hit the goldmine of woman attracters. He smiled deviously as he thought of all the plans he would have in store for his young apprentice.

Twenty minutes later, after the woman had finally released Naruto when he was about to go unconscious from lack of air, they were paying for their purchases with a large discount.

Rakki and his student then went to a pocky stand, and sat down on a bench, watching the families and traders daily routine.

"Neh, Rakki," Naruto asked turning his whole body towards his sensei, "What exactly are you going to be teaching me?"

Rakki looked at the boys as he pondered his question, slowly chewing on his pocky. "What do you think it is like to be a shinobi?" he asked finally, returning his gaze to the crowd.

Naruto was surprised but chose not to speak as his teacher continued. "A shinobi's life is full of death, danger and murder. We can not avoid it, only learn to live with it". Rakki spread his arms as to show the crowds of people in the square. "We kill on a daily basis. I myself have killed hundreds of men and women, and my sensei even more than that".

Naruto paled as he thought of all the blood. "We kill, we must accept that," said Rakki, still looking into the crowd, "But we must also find a reason to do what we do. Something to help get us through the night. For some it is money, others family, but trust me kit, you will not survive long in this line of work if you cannot come up with an answer".

"So I ask you," Rakki turned to face Naruto, "Why do you want to be a shinobi?"

Naruto was at a loss. Before, he would have quickly said to gain everyone's love and respect, but that was not the answer he wanted. Living the life he had, you learned very quickly that it takes a lot of work to create true bonds. But when the bonds are built, they are not easily broken. This was the reason that Naruto had always treasured his relationship with Jiji, the Ichirakus and now, Rakki. Those people were more precious than any currency, and Naruto would put his life on the line.

It was then Naruto had his answer. "I want…" He took a deep breath, "I want to protect my precious people". Rakki just continued to stare at him, nonverbally telling him to continue. "I know I don't have many right now," said Naruto as he looked up to the clear blue sky, "But someday I will, and I want, no I need to be strong enough to protect them at all costs".

Rakki smiled at his student's words, 'Nice kit, really nice'. "Well you aren't goanna get that strong sitting on your ass," said Rakki as he stood up, "Time to start you on that path of yours ,kit". Naruto gave Rakki a grin, which he quickly mirrored as they set off to the canyon of the town.

* * *

><p>The outskirts of the village were very rocky and steep, but on the plateaus were wide, open green fields. Perfect for the training use of ninja, whose workout sessions would normally destroy the land around them. In the center of one of these plains was Rakki, facing a giddy Naruto.<p>

'This is it!' Thought Naruto, as he bit his tongue to keep from yelling in joy. 'This is the day I become a kickass ninja!'

"So what are we going to do? Maybe we start off with some high-powered justus? Maybe one that can turn a mountain to rubble, man that would be Suigo! Maybe a cou-mph", Naruto was silenced when Rakki cupped his hand over the boy's mouth.

"Jeez kit, why don't you just talk your enemies to death, that might work," said Rakki as he rolled his eyes. 'Was I like this when A-sensei taught us? He grimaced at the thought.

"Do you even know what chakra is?" Rakki asked as he removed his hand from Naruto's mouth. "Chorkra?" Naruto tilted is head in confusion, "No idea what your talking 'bout".

Rakki sighed, 'This is going to be a long day', "No baka, CHA-KRA, in all essence, it is the source of a justu's power. It is basically the combination of physical energy, which is in every living thing, and Spiritual Energy, which is the combination of a person's experience and training. In other words, no chakra, no Jutsu". Rakki looked at his student to see if he had gotten everything, which thankfully he had.

'Good thing this kid soaks up information like a sponge.' Rakki smirked. "Before we can do anything, you have to learn to find your own chakra." Said Rakki as he formed the ram sign. "This is the Ram sign, it is a hand seal commonly utilized to mold chakra. All you have to do is find your Chakra and release it. Remember, we can't move forward until you have mastered this." Naruto nodded before placing his hands in the Ram seal, and began to search for any form of energy within his body.

"You will feel a warm sensation when you find it. Don't be disappointed if you don't find it on your first tr-", Rakki started but was soon cut off by a large blast of energy. His eyes widened, and then quickly focused on Naruto. A large blue orb of chakra had amassed it self around the boy, but anyone could see the ever so often flashes of red that penetrated the blue.

The Orb of chakra soon dissipated however, and left a heavy breathing Naruto, smiling like a maniac. "H-h-How was that?" Naruto asked between breathes.

'Incredible', thought Rakki as he continued to process what had just happened, 'Naruto has low chunin level reserves, and he is only 6! If they continue to grow like that, image what kind of powerhouse he'll be when he becomes a genin.'

Rakki chuckled at his student's enthusiasm; "Nice going Kit, but this will probably be one of the easiest things for you. Jinchuriki generally have higher reserves than most people because the demon inside them is just one great big spirit, creating giant reserves for their containers. Meaning that most of the main exercises we are going to be doing will focus around control, rather than building up your reserves." Naruto frowned at this new information, but comforted himself with the thought of how quickly he had found his chakra.

"Now comes the fun part" Rakki grinned as he cracked his knuckles. Naruto paled, he was not looking forward to the next part of his training. "Every morning at sunrise you will wake up and do 25 pushups, 25 sit ups, 100 punches for each arm and 100 kicks for each leg. Finally, you will then run for 2 miles before coming to me for chakra control and other drills".

Naruto gaped, "Are you insane? There is no way I will be able to do all that!" "Well" Rakki's grin grew more sadistic. He put his hand on the ground where a large seal area appeared before calling out, **Kuchiyose no Jutsu**. There was a puff of smoke, and out came a large orange fox, easily the size of a horse. "I could always have this guy chase you while you did your warm ups". As if on queue, the Fox started to growl and brand his teeth.

Needless to say Naruto had already started.

* * *

><p>This continued for the next year, every week or so Rakki would up the regiment. His body, which was once malnourished and weak, was now strong and toned. He had grown a total of 3 inches after Rakki had forced him to stop his all-ramen diet, standing well above the other 7 year olds. After lots of persuasion on Naruto's part, Rakki had also begun his taijutsu training in his personal style, the <span>Kitsune no Sutairu<span>, a fighting form of his own invention that utilized feints and speed to deliver fatal blows to the enemy. Though he only knew the basic katas, Rakki said that his body was perfectly built for the style of fighting.

Naruto had also begun to wear weights. After Rakki had discovered that Naruto's body quickly adapted to strain, had begun to add more weight twice a week. Currently the he was on a total of 16 kilo's per arm, 20 kilo's on each legs, and 30 around his torso. His speed now with his weights was that of a seasoned genin, but when removed could match mid chunin ranked speeds.

Though Naruto was not as skilled in control as his other focuses of training, they were good for someone his age. Rakki had started him off on using his chakra to keep a blade of grass straight up on his finger. Though it was difficult, with lots of time and sweat, Naruto had managed to get one blade of grass to stand on the tip of his index finger. But, being the slave driver he was, Rakki would not move on until it was second nature.

After a month, when Naruto was able to keep two blades of grass straight up on all ten fingers, Rakki had shown him wall climbing, which after the control exercises he had been doing was a piece of cake. That was until Rakki had him run up and down the wall for hours on end while he threw blunted kunai at him. Rakki told Naruto that it served three purposes, the first was to heighten his control over his chakra, the second was to improve his evasion on the battlefield, and third was that it was really entertaining.

When not training, Rakki and Naruto were normally on the road, traveling from country to country, mostly staying out of Konoha, Iwa, and Suna territory. While on the road, the two worked on observation, and education. Rakki would have Naruto walk through a group of people, then ask him what he had learned. At first Naruto was confused as to the point of this training before Rakki explained that spotting the smallest irregularity in someone's appearance or stature could quickly tip you off and help you avoid trouble.

Rakki seemed to value the blondes education greatly as he constantly talked to him about geography, phycology, mathematics, human anatomy, politics, a session which Rakki liked to call 'Modified History Rakki Style' which only talked about great leaders and battle strategies, and Naruto's favorite subject, Fuin justu.

Sealing seemed to be an area of specialty for the blonde. He had seen Rakki seal some supplies into a scroll he had asked about it. Rakki told him that sealing was a rare and complex art, few people knew how to do it properly and was a commonly sought out trade in the ninja world. He went on to explain that unlike genjustu or ninjustu, Fuin justu had almost no limitations. All it required was skill and creativity.

At the next town Naruto had gone into the local library and read all the books he could about sealing. Discovering that it required very neat handwriting, he began to work on his own until everything he wrote was crisp and clean. He had later that day made his first sealing scroll, which surprised him, because in the books Naruto had checked out, it had said that the art of Fuin justu took years to merely start, and he had done it in a week. When he asked Rakki about it, he just chuckled then said something like, 'like father like son'. Unfortunately before Naruto could clarify what that meant, Rakki told him that they were going out for ramen to celebrate, which silenced all other thoughts in the blonde's mind.

Today, after Naruto had finished his extended warm up of 300 pushups, 300 sit ups, 500 punches with each arm and leg, and his 15 mile run, he walked up to Rakki only to see a piece of blank paper in his hand. "What are we doing today Ero-Masuta?" Rakki sighed, over the past year Naruto had learned of Rakki's high interests in the brothels, Red Light districts, and even the beautiful woman who happened to walk by in every town. Therefore, Naruto saw it deserving to call him Ero-Masuta, because he was pervy, and Rakki had had Naruto walk down the streets or in front the bathhouses to attract all of the women who just loved to touch his 'adorable whiskers. "Quiet Kit, today we start your ninjustu training. Now this doesn't mean that we are done with your other studies, only that we will be focusing a majority of our time on ninjustu because of your gigantic reserves".

Naruto nodded with a blank expression on his face. During their trip, one of the things that Rakki had drilled into Naruto's head was the difference between work and leisure. While on his days off or breaks Naruto was his normal happy, go lucky, ramen loving self, as soon as the training began, he was a mask of concentration and tranquility.

Rakki held up the piece of paper, "This is Chakra Paper", he said as he waved it around". By channeling your chakra into it, you can see what type of chakra nature you have. If it burns you have Katon, if it gets cut you have Futon, if it crinkles it is Raiton, Doton it turns to dust, and Suiton it dampens".

Rakki handed the paper to Naruto who quickly started to channel chakra into it. The results caused both student and teacher's eyes to widen in shock.

The paper had spilt in half and while one side quickly went up in flames, the other was crinkled to a ball that dropped on the floor.

"Um…was that supposed to happen?" Naruto asked as he picked up and examined the paper ball. Rakki didn't say anything but quickly put another slip of Chakra paper into his hand and said, "Again". Naruto pushed chakra into the paper, and just like before, it split in half with one half burning to a crisp, while the other crumpled into a ball.

Rakki just stared at Naruto, silently contemplating the situation as he either rubbed his chin. After a few minutes Rakki sighed before saying, "You are just a bunch of surprises aren't you Kit. You have three chakra elements, Futon, Raiton, and Katon. Now you have a very high affinity towards your Raiton and Katon affinities".

Naruto tilted his head, "And…So?" Rakki smacked his pupil, "Baka, most jonin only have two elements after years of training, to see two affinities in a child is rare, and three is close to impossible".

Rakki began to frown, "This also brings up the question of what the Kyuubi is doing inside of your body".

Naruto began to get worried; anytime they talked about the fox he got worried. How could he not when that thing had been the cause of all the pain he had experienced. "So what are we going to do about it?"

"Not we Kit, you" Rakki said as looked up at the clouds, a quirk he picked up when he was debating with himself on an important matter. He looked back down at his shocked student, before, in a blur of speed, moved behind his student. "Your goanna have to deal with it and him yourself".

Before Naruto could get another word in, Rakki delivered a quick chop to his troika, knocking him out cold. Rakki looked at his unconscious student before picking him up, and slowly placing him against a nearby tree. "Hope the kid and the Fur ball get along," Rakki muttered to himself, "Or this is just going to be a huge waste of time".

* * *

><p>The first thing that Naruto awoke to was the sound of dripping water. 'Drip, drip, drip'. When he opened his eyes, he could see that he was no longer in the green field he was this morning. He now lay in a pool of cold, murky water close to a foot deep. As he picked himself up from the floor, he realized that none of his clothes were wet, meaning that either this was a genjustu, or he was somewhere…else.<p>

As his eyes adjusted to the light of the tunnel, he could see his surroundings more clearly. Surrounding him were many old rusted walls with small pipes that ran in every direction. While in the smaller pipes, a small blue tint could be seen, the larger and more noticeable pipes seemed to pulsate a crimson light as it was pumped through.

Deciding that he should find way out of here, Naruto headed down the long corridor, making sure to keep the noise to a minimum. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. The last thing he remembered was Rakki knocking him out, but he wouldn't leave him in a place like this, right? And what was that about 'deal with him yourself' crap. How the hell was he going to talk to a giant chakra monster in his stomach?

Naruto stopped when he heard noise. Closer observation identified it as heavy breathing. As Naruto began to follow the sounds, they became louder and heavier, and the room temperature seemed to skyrocket.

At the end of the corridor was a room shining the same crimson light he had seen running through the pipes. When Naruto peeked into the room he gasped. Inside was a colossal cage, with great iron bars that fell down from the ceiling. Across the center of the bars was a paper tag with the kanji 'seal' written on it.

Naruto knew what this room was, this was a seal, this was the Shika Fuin, but more importantly, this was where the Kyuubi lived. Naruto tried to get a glimpse of what was in the cage, but could not see far enough in the eerie light

"**Come closer,"** a small child's voice giggled. Naruto reluctantly stepped forward. **"Your goanna have to get closer that that"** the voice said again, but this time with a laugh.

'Ok this is scaring the shit out of me' though Naruto as he was sweating bullets. Either a small child had somehow gotten locked in here too, or it was the fox trying to play games with him.

Naruto took a deep breath, calming his nerves, before speaking in a steady voice, "Enough Kyuubi, I know it's you". **"Awww your no fun,"** the voice started to lower and become more malevolent, **"Just a couple more steps and I could have gotten a meal. But oh well, I guess if you did fall for that then you would be a pitiful choice as my container".** The nonchalance of the tone made Naruto flinch, 'how can he talk so calmly about eating someone?'

A large eye opened inside the darkness of the cage. The iris was a bloody crimson, while the pupil was a slit. **"Why don't we do this the old fashioned way,"** Kyuubi smiled, showing off his set of sharp canines, **"How about you come here and run around for a bit in my cage, I always did enjoy a good chase".**

"Maybe some other time," Naruto spoke as he tightened his fists to stop him from running straight at the thing that had been the cause of all his pain, "I need some answers, and unfortunately you are the one who has them". The biju chuckled, **"My my Kit, I thought you had learned that you had to rely on yourself for answers. Or at least that is what you should have learned from the geezer".** Naruto stayed silent as Kyuubi continued,** "How did it feel to learn that you had been lied to by 'Jiji', I really don't have to ask because I saw it for myself. The hate, the feeling of betrayal, the thirst for revenge…"**

"Shut up…" Naruto muttered, a shadow across his eyes. The Kyuubi looked at him in mock confusion, **"Hm? Say something Kit? You will have to speak up".** "I SAID SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled at the giant Kitsune, "NEVER BLAME JIJI BECAUSE IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU DIDN'T ATTACK THE VILLAGE, I MIGHT HAVE HAD A FAMILY, PEOPLE WOULD NOT HAVE HURT ME! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF DAMAGE YOU HAVE DONE! YOU STUPID FO-" but Naruto was cut off by a massive dose of Killer Intent.

"**Watch your tongue boy,"** Kyuubi hissed, his full tailed form appearing, **"I merely stated what I saw, no need to get defensive about it. Also I never hurt you, the villager's own fear and misguided hate did".** Naruto seemed to widen at the fox's point of view. **"On the contrary,"** The fox spoke, **"I was the one who healed your body from those attacks, if anything you should be thanking me for not allowing you to die for 6 years".**

Naruto took a couple deep breaths to disperse his anger. "Thank you" he finally said, though a bit forced, "but we still have some things to discuss". Kyuubi grinned at his victory before nodding the boy to continue.

"Where are we?" he asked first as he turned to look again at the sewer. **"I see no harm in telling you that,"** the Kyuubi mused, **"This is called a mindscape, a section of your mind that the seal has constructed to help us communicate. It may look like a dump, but I blame the villager's treatment, causing you to grow up with a bastardized vision of how the world is".** A large tail pointed at one of the large pipes on the ceiling, **"These pipes have both your small and miniscule chakra, and my overall superior chakra. From what I can tell, this seal has been siphoning off my own chakra and assimilating it with your own supply, making it continuously grow larger".** Naruto nodded as he processed the fox's answer, "So eventually, my reserves will merge with the rest of yours, and you will disappear?" he asked hopefully.

The Kitsune scoffed, **"Kit, even if I was forcing my charka through the seal constantly, you would not live long enough to completely merge. In other words your stuck with me until you die".**

"So you still have some control of your chakra?" questioned Naruto, "I'm surprised that the seal would allow that". Kyuubi grew a prideful smile, **"No power is absolute, Kit. The seal could not take away my entire reserve on threat of also moving some of my mind along with it. But honestly, my traits is still entering your body as we speak".**

Naruto's eyes widened, "Wait! Your thoughts are entering my mind right now! How do I get you out! I don't want to begin thinking that I am a demon fox!" he spoke worriedly.

"**No Baka, traits; likes or dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, even affinities"**, Kyuubi calmly explained,** "For example, your whiskers and your love of ramen, when the stuff first came out I would henge into a human so I could eat the delicious meal all day", **the fox sighed dreamily and began to stare off into nothingness. 'Is this what I look like when I think about ramen?' Naruto thought as he stared at the Lord of all Demons giggle as he thought about ramen. "And my three affinities?" Naruto asked, trying to call the biju back to reality.

Kyuubi shook off his ramen induced dream, **"More like two,"** seeing Naruto's confused expression he continued, **"If I had not been part of your body, your affinity would have mostly likely been futon, but seeing as we are stuck together, my affinities are slowly eradicating your original element and **_**Might**_** mix to form my Kekkei Genkai".**

"Might?" Naruto asked, dreading what he knew was going to come next. Kyuubi grinned at the blonde child in front of his cage. **"Yes **_**might**_**, it all depends on what happens today".** Naruto took a couple more forced breaths before asking,"Alright the whole 'deal with the devil' kind of thing. So what do you have in mind?"

"**Simple Kit, I give you my Kekkei Genkai and train you how to use it and my own chakra, and you help me get what I want".** "And what do you want exactly?" Naruto was wondering what the most powerful biju in the world could want.

"**Well truthfully what I want is to be set free from this abysmal cage,"** Kyuubi said offhandedly. Naruto was about to object when the fox continued, **"But from careful examination of the seal, setting me free would also kill me. So I will go with the two next best things, have the feelings of what it is like outdoors again, and to watch the man responsible for all this suffer a painful and horrible death".**

Naruto quirked his eyebrow, "How can you watch the Yondaime suffer? He is already dead". The temperature of the room seemed to change from blazing heat, to subzero. When Kyuubi spoke, his voice was harsh and cold, **"The Yondaime may be responsible for sealing me, but, the person who tricked me into attacking that pitiful village is still alive, and I won't rest until I can use his spine as a toothpick".**

Naruto gulped, 'If there is someone who was strong enough to manipulate the Kyuubi, why would he have him try to destroy the leaf?' "Al-alright the revenge part I can help with, if someone did force you to attack the leaf, then he is the reason for my horrible childhood, but how do you plan on helping you feel the outside again?"

The room temperature resumed its previous unbearable temperature and Kyuubi spoke as if nothing had happened. **"Well that's easy, all you have to do is rip off a corner of the seal".**

"WHAT!" screamed Naruto, "But even if I made the smallest tear in that seal, the rest would slowly fall apart, causing you to be released". **"Jeez relax Kit,"** the Kyuubi said, a large sweat drop coming down his head, **"Besides, the fourth's seal has so many backups, that ripping of a little piece will barely weaken the cage. Tell you what, since I am feeling so generous today, I will sweeten the deal. I will throw in telling you about my previous container". **

Naruto adopted a confused expression, still slightly against the idea of altering the seal, "Why would I want to know that?" **"It might be better if I tell you her name first,"** The fox mused as he pretended to think, **"Her name was Uzumaki Kushina, or what you would have called her, Kaa-san".**

Naruto's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, "Y-you mean she was my mo-mother?" Naruto was barely able to keep the tears of joy of discovering his parentage under control. **"Yes, Kit, your mother"**, the Kyuubi spoke in a calm voice, **"and I am giving you the opportunity to get to know her, she may be gone, but I have a stockpile of memories of her. That is…if you want to know", **the Kyuubi baited.

Wiping all doubt from his mind, Naruto appeared in front of the seal, "How much should I rip off?" The Kyuubi gave a toothy grin at the boy's enthusiasm, **"About the size of your thumb but you might want to brace yourself".** When Naruto ripped the piece of paper, at first he felt nothing, but that quickly when red chakra engulfed him, spreading pain throughout his entire body, "Wha-What is this?" Naruto hissed.

"**That is why I told you to brace yourself",** The Kyuubi chide the blonde, **"I might as well finish my part of the deal, Kushina was exactly like you. Brash, stubborn, loud, and obnoxious, the self named 'Queen of Pranks'. In truth the only difference I see between yours and her personality is that while you favor orange, she favored red".**

Though Naruto was in a great deal of pain, he allowed a small smile to cross his face, "Th-Thank you Kyuubi-san". Those were his last words as he drifted off into dreamless sleep, leaving a stunned Kyuubi.

'**Kyuubi-san huh?"** the fox chuckled to himself, **'the Kit may have promise after all'.** The Kyuubi then left to begin his surprise to the Kit when he woke up. **'Your child will not be weak Kushina-san, I owe you that much'.**

* * *

><p>When Naruto awoke, his entire body felt sore. He groaned as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. He then began to go over all that had happened, 'was it all a dream?' Suddenly a familiar voice spoke inside his head, <strong>'No Kit, it was all real".<strong>

"Kyuubi?" Naruto said, looking around, trying to find the location of the voice. **"Wow Kit, just when I was this close to acknowledging that you have some brains, you had to go baka on me, don't you remember our deal? Everything you see feel, hear, and touch, so will I". **The only response he got back was a grumble and something that sounded like, 'Kitsune-teme'.

"Great Kit, you're up", Naruto turned to see his master, Rakki leaning on a tree chewing some pocky, "If you had slept any longer I would have gotten to go through with my plan to use you to hit on nurses at the hospital. You really need to wake up faster".

"Thanks, I'll remember that when you knock me out next time", Naruto said sarcastically, which Rakki just held up his hands in mock defense. "Sorry Kit, but it had to be done, the only way to meet your biju without previous contact is to either be unconscious, or in a life or death experience, and believe me, you would of looked a lot worse if I had thrown you off a cliff".

Choosing to ignore his sensei's comment, Naruto steadily stood up, "Well in the end it worked". Rakki's face lost all playfulness as he entered his 'ninja mode', waving at Naruto to continue.

Naruto then went on to talk about his meeting with the Kyuubi, the deal they had made, and the discovery of his birthmother. Throughout the explanation, Rakki just stayed silent, every so often nodding his head.

When Naruto had finished, Rakki sighed, "Well I guess I was correct about one of your parents, but the name 'Uzumaki' should tipped me off sooner". Naruto glared at his teacher, "So you knew and didn't tell me". Rakki just sent a glare back, "It was only a thought, what if I had been wrong and had brought up your hopes for nothing".

Naruto flinched before looking down at his feet, "Sorry about that". Rakki's glare lightened upon seeing Naruto's reaction, and gave the boy a smile, "Just take it easy Kit, it must be tough to learn about your family considering the life you had, but what I would really like to know is the Kekkei Genkai that Kyuubi-san talked about".

'**In a way it is pure genius', **mused Kyuubi, **'by combining my Raiton and my Katon chakra types, I have created something I like to call, Akai Inazuma. It is generally an undefeatable element, Futon attacks that would normally beat a Raiton attack, actually increases its power. Also when the attack hits, it causes a burn that spreads through out the body, slowly turning your opponents chakra system to ash. In simpler terms, all of your Raiton justus are a lot stronger than normal".**

Naruto relayed what the fox had said to Rakki, who began to grin in anticipation. "Well good news, bad news, Kit. The good news is that Kumo is known for their Raiton Justus, the bad news is that your training just got a whole lot harder".

Without warning, Rakki threw a paper bomb at Naruto's feet, which barely gave him enough time to jump out of the blast range. Turning to look at his teacher, who had a sadistic gleam in his eye, said "You should run now Kit". Naruto paled and Kyuubi began to laugh, **'Oh, this is going to be fun'.**

* * *

><p>Kakashi walked down the main of street of Konoha reading his Icha Icha. If one were to quickly glance at the man, they would see nothing different from the day before, but to those who knew him, they could see that he was troubled.<p>

Things had not been going well for Konoha, Naruto's death had caused a drastic change to the people he knew. After his mission to find Naruto's killers, he had found them quite quickly. But instead of putting up a fight, they just walked through the street, yelling to the crowds of their deed, many cheered.

When their trial was brought up, despite some of the clans and the Sandaime, the civilian court had issued them a pardon; Councilor Haruno had even recommended that they be promoted to jonin for doing a 'civil service'. It took both Kakashi and Gai to stop Kurenai from trying to place one of her most horrifying genjutsus on her.

That night there were parties throughout the streets celebrating the 'true' demon's death. Seeing as the boy was dead, the thirds law no longer had any sway with the villagers, who proceeded to tell their children the so called truth about Naruto, causing two sides to form, the ones who thought that he was really a demon in disguise, and the ones who saw him as the protector of the village, forever holding the Kyuubi at bay.

Kakashi's single eye narrowed a bit as he thought of the villagers, over the past two years he had grown to hold a slimmer of hate towards the ones he was sworn to protect. He now only spoke with a select group of jonin outside of missions. To make matters worse, his ANBU service almost up, and would soon have to quit to become a jonin sensei for the last Uchiha.

The Sandaime who was once ever kind and compassionate was gone. In his place was a powerful leader, who would do anything to protect the village. 'Or at least to some' Kakashi mused as the Sandaime had kept his warm smile for his ANBU, family, and some of the Jonin.

Gai had become even more enthralled into his own 'youth' as he trained, fought, and challenged Kakashi to menial tasks more and more often. When asked why, he would just say that he was reclaiming the 'youth' that should have been Naruto's.

The Ichirakus, when they had heard about Naruto's death, had closed the store for two weeks. When it reopened, a small shelf was set behind the counter, with a young Ayame and Naruto smiling at the camera, with a large bowl of ramen in front of them. Any one who insulted the boy, or the shelf was immediately kicked out. Kakashi admired them for staying so strong even in the face of darkness.

Kurenai was the most affected out of everyone. She felt that she had failed Kushina and proceeded to push herself further and further into her work. An all too similar reaction to Kakashi. While she had always been well reserved with her emotions, she completely withdrew from outside contact with everyone but her best friend, Anko, Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma, who had returned from his time outside of the village, and when he had heard of Kushinas child's death, was set to leave again.

When Kakashi looked up from his book, he realized that he had walked all the way to the Hokage's Monument, but more specifically, an iron shield welded into the rock. On the shield was written in bright orange letters, _Here Lies the Spirit of Uzumaki Naruto, let his spirit protect us like he did with the Kyuubi in his life_. This was the only thing that the Sandaime had been able to get Naruto, and even still it was vandalized.

Kakashi wiped of some of the grime before placing a steaming hot bowl of ramen on the alter. "Eat up Naruto".

Kekkei Genkai: Bloodlimit

Akai Inazuma: Red Lightning

**So please review, and anything you might think is cool, put it in the reviews. If I think it is cool, then I will put it in and note that it was your idea.**


	3. Summons and Swords

**Hey hows it been? Haven't posted a chapter in a while. Partly because i was looking around, trying to find a good way to write some action scenes, mostly because i am lazy.**

**Just some notes, Sorry if anything is not exactly like the manga, i will try to be exact, but some parts are a bit more fun if you interpret them your own way. READ AND REVIEW!**

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc. speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

Two figures stood across from each other on an open plain. One was a man close to his thirties, while the other was a boy, roughly 10 years old in age with blonde spiky, hair. He wore black baggy pants, which to the naked eye it appeared that all of the pockets were empty. But, to the eyes of a trained ninja, one could tell that the entire inside of each pocket was brimming with storage seals. The boy also wore a tattered, dark orange muscle shirt with a white lightweight, zip-up sweatshirt, with gray storm clouds running down the arms.

The two opponents were Rakki and Naruto, nearly three years after the first contact with the Kyuubi. Rakki smirked, then signaled Naruto to begin, at which point the blond gave a quick calculative glance around the area before charging.

Naruto jumped at his teacher with the intent to kill, aiming a punch at Rakki's head. Rakki easily moved, dodged the attack and went for the unguarded side of Naruto's body with a quick chop to the neck.

However, Naruto saw this coming and grabbed Rakki's wrist, and used it's momentum to pull him over his shoulders. When Rakki was right on top of his back, Naruto jumped into the air, twisted, and tossed his sensei into the ground.

Naruto grinned at his accomplishment, but it quickly melted away when he saw Rakki standing in a crater, picking the dirt off his nails and looking quite bored.

When Naruto landed a couple of feet away from Rakki, he glared at the fact that it he was barely taking him seriously, but quickly calmed himself to think up a strategy to defeat him.

However, he did not have this luxury, because just then Rakki appeared in front of him, engaging him in a fierce series of jabs and kicks. Naruto dodged the ones he could, but still a few managed to hit him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him.

After a few minutes of dodging, Naruto finally managed to get far enough away from Rakki to place his plan into action. Thinking fast, he quickly produced four **Raiton Bushnins,** which moved to various locations around Rakki. When all of them were in position, the clones to the north threw a group of kunai straight at Rakki.

He dodged them easily, but then at the last moment noticed a small hissing noise coming from one of the projectiles. He turned to see a seal tied to one of the kunai. 'Paper Bomb!' he thought before jumping out of the blast range. When he looked back, he saw another cluster of paper bombs flying at him, which he dodged again.

'What is he planning?' Rakki thought as he proceeded to play cat and mouse while trying to watch all four Naruto, who all had a similar grin plastered on their faces.

After a while Rakki was getting irritated, so this time when he saw the kunai coming, he took out his own kunai and started to bat away the barrage, before using his expert aim to throw and aim his kunai through the paper bomb's hole, pushing it towards one of the Naruto's.

When the Paper bomb went off, the clone was discharged in a spark of lightning. Rakki slowly stood up, taking some breaths to relax himself while he looked at the remaining clones, who had all lost their smirks.

"Nice plan to begin with Kit", he complimented, "You use your bushnins as markers, to continuously throw explosives at me, keeping me moving, slowly causing me to tire and make it easier for you to hit me".

"However it is going to take a lot more than that if you want to surpass me," he boasted. But his fun was cut short when he felt a presence coming at him from behind. When he turned, he was facing two Naruto clones rushing at him.

'When did he make those?' Rakki thought as he surveyed the battleground. His eyes soon fell upon a group of Kunai that had a few less then the others.

'So, he not only used the Kunai as a way to keep me moving, but also to plant some traps for me if I ever escaped. Damn ,this is starting to get interesting' Rakki grinned at the progress of his student.

The first clone jumped at Rakki trying to bind his knees, which Rakki jumped into the air to avoid. Then the second sprang after him going for a quick kick at his left shoulder.

Rakki grabbed Naruto's fist, then spun to throw the clone away, sending him and the clone in opposite directions. What Rakki was not expecting was for a Naruto to break through the ground, with a charged up a **Raikyu** between two kunai.

"If you think that I'm too much of a coward to attack you head on, then you got another thing coming!"

Naruto then threw both kunai at Rakki, who could do nothing to stop them as they headed right towards his chest. When they hit, there was a flash of lightning, as sparks danced around Rakki's body, before he hit the ground.

Naruto watched for a second, keeping his guard up just in case Rakki was faking it. But when after two minutes neither had moved, he assumed it was done.

"Wow" Naruto said as he scratched his head, "I thought it would be harder than that". Just then, he felt the familiar touch of a cold blade under his neck.

"It never is Kit". Naruto cursed, kneeling right behind him was Rakki, with one kunai pressed to his jugular, while the other was pressing down hard on his kidneys, both vital spots.

"As I said before, your planning and strategy was good," continued Rakki as he pressed the Kunai a bit deeper into his throat, making it a bit harder for Naruto to breath, "If you were fighting a chunin level shinobi, you would have won with that combo, constantly moving your opponent around, making them think that they are making the choices to jump where they want when really, you are positioning them closer and closer to you, so you can jump out and surprise them".

"However you forgot that since I am considered to be a S-rank Nin, those tactics would do little against me. Also when you dropped your guard around my 'body', you left yourself open to attack", Rakki chided as he removed the blades from Naruto's neck, allowing him to breathe easier.

"The beginning and the end of a battle are the most important parts," said Rakki as he proceeded to readjust his bones with a loud series of cracks, "We are ninja, we never play by the rules, so odds are we are never going to go down alone".

Naruto nodded as his eyes were focused on a blade of grass near his feet. "Now then," Naruto looked up to see the devious smile of his teacher, "I believe we made a deal this time about whether or not you would win, hmm?"

All the blood from Naruto's face instantly drained, in seconds he was at Rakki's feet, begging for him to reconsider. "PLEASE ERO-MASUTA! ANYTHING BUT THAT! DO YOU NEED ANY HELP HITTING ON THE WOMEN AT THE BATH HOUSES? MARKET? ANYWHERE? JUST ANYTHING BUT THAT!"

Rakki's grin grew larger, "Nope Kit, this was the bet: if you won, I would not go to another brothel for two weeks, but if I won…Oh the excitement is killing me" He began to laugh at Naruto's horrified expression.

"I'll say it slowly just to savor the moment. No. Ramen. For. Two. Weeks". Naruto's world shattered when he heard those words. "NOOO!" He screamed as large anime tears fell down his face.

"**Dammit Kit do you see what you've done!"** ranted the Kyuubi from Naruto's mindscape, **"Why would you bet such an important treasure! Now what are we going to do?"** The fox was near a mental breakdown of it's own at the though of being separated from his, 'precious'.

'I had no idea he would follow through, I swear", Naruto thought back as he cried over the loss of the first love of his life, ramen.

Seeing that this was not going to end soon, Rakki shrugged before grabbing his student by the hood, and dragging him back to the village.

* * *

><p>Naruto glared at the bowl of udon in front of him, when the pair had arrived in town, they had decided to grab something to eat. They were currently on a small coastal town of Yu. Rakki was leaving to go gather some information for Kumo for a couple of months, so this would be Naruto's temporary base of operations where he would eat, sleep, and train.<p>

Naruto shifted his gaze to his sensei, which just to irk him, had gotten a bowl of miso ramen, his favorite. Now many people would argue that there was not a ramen flavor that he didn't like, but Naruto would just respond by throwing a couple of shuriken at them. It was not his fault that all ramen was delicious.

Rakki ignored the glares his student was giving him and continued to focus on his meal. After taking a purposely, loud slurp, he turned a lazy eye and analyzed Naruto.

His build was larger, anyone could tell from just a glance. His eyes darted around the room at a fast pace while his fingers twitched at the slightest irregularity.

Across his face was a black mask that covered the nose and mouth. After multiple instants of different 'Naruto fan clubs' popping up in the towns that they had visited, much to Rakki's displeasure, Naruto had started to wear a mask to keep the fan girls away. They were getting smarter though, they had started to track his location.

After Rakki had cleaned his bowl, he stood up and walked to the door. He threw some keys over his shoulder, which Naruto caught without hesitation. "Those are the keys to the room I booked, it is already paid for so don't piss them off", he turned back so he faced his student, "I have something I want you to work on for the next month so when you are done, find me".

Rakki then popped out of existence leaving nothing more than a smoke cloud.

Naruto sighed as he realized that this was another part of his training, being able to find people by their scent. He paid for his and Rakki's meal before taking to the rooftops in pursuit.

* * *

><p>After half an hour, Naruto had followed Rakki's trail to a small clearing in the forest, surrounding the town. There waiting was Rakki, holding a blunt katana, and a large scroll.<p>

The Katana was quite bare; Naruto could tell that it was a practice blade, a substitute for a real blade when the wielder was ready. However the scroll was a different story.

The bindings were a rusted red, while the parchment looked faded but still legible. Along the side was a red fox with its tail splitting off to intertwine around the scroll.

"Finally Kit, now we can begin" said Rakki, while Naruto shot him a not so subtle glare, but it quickly disappeared when Rakki's face schooled itself.

"Today Kit, you will be taking another step towards replacing me as the Kitsune Sennin". Rakki rolled out the scroll on the ground, Naruto could see Rakki's name written on the parchment, along with four or more other fading signatures. "This is the Kitsune Summoning Contract," Rakki said as he traced his finger along his own name, "I found this on my travels, and was one of the rare few allowed to sign it. The foxes are very picky in their summoners and as you can see, few have ever been chosen. They want their partners to be strong, cunning, and have good intentions, and if they choose you as a summoner, then you will have a strong ally".

Naruto nodded, soaking in all the information as Rakki continued, "Foxes, while not one of the strongest with brute strength, are the smartest out of all the other contracts, constantly tricking and confusing their enemies into falling into traps. They have the uncanny ability to see through genjutsus, along with casting them, and are excellent trackers and masters in stealth. In other words they suit you perfectly".

Rakki looked up at the sky, the sun had already gone down and a shallow dusk had appeared over the trees. "You need to sign you name in blood, then I will show you the hand seals to summon, get them the first time because I will only be showing you once", he said as he watched Naruto quickly tear off some skin on his index finger before quickly writing down his name.

"All right, now here comes the hard part, whether they accept you or not", said Rakki as he quickly showed Naruto the hand seals before he tried it on his own.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu"** yelled Naruto as he slammed his hand into the ground, causing an array of seals to appear. The seals soon disappeared in a puff of smoke and there in its place was an orange fox around the size of small dog. The fox had an iron plate on its chest with the kanji for 'fire' on it.

"**Hiya Rakki-san, how's it been? What did ya call me for?"** the fox said with a large grin on his face. Rakki smiled at the small fox, "pretty good Itazura, but I wasn't the one who summoned you, he was," he said pointing at Naruto. "Uh…Hi" Naruto smartly responded, still mesmerized about what he had just done.

The fox, now known as Itazura, narrowed his eyes at Naruto, slowly observing the boy. He then walked up to Naruto's feet, before jumping to his shoulder in one bound.

When he was properly seated, he stared intently at Naruto's eyes, while his tail explored the rest of his head. When his tail went over Naruto's nose, he sneezed, but this did not even distract the fox.

After two minutes of silence, Itazura said in a jovial tone, "**He looks alright, Tou-san might be ok with this one. He doesn't look like he frightens easily".** Naruto was unsure on whether that was a complement or an insult, so he gave the intellectual response of, "Uhh…Thanks?"

Itazura just grinned back, **"Don't mention it, just don't be a weakling, I would hate to have my familiar be a little sap that gets beat up all the time".** This got Naruto pissed, "What did you say furball?" He tried to smash his fist into the small fox's head, but it quickly jumped away from his shoulder onto a nearby tree branch, still grinning.

"**Oh he has quite the temper eh Rakki-san, yes, I do believe I will have a lot of fun with him as my familiar",** Itazura said as he looked at Rakki who just sighed. "Just be careful Itazura, get too far on his bad side and you will regret it. He is almost as good a prankster as you", Rakki said with a shiver, as he remembered the time he had gotten on the blonde's bad side and had ended up with many bruises and broken bones from an organized attack by the female populous of town.

Naruto, still growling at Itazura asked, "Eh Rakki, who is the furball and what does he mean by familiar?" Itazura just looked at Naruto then gave a sheepish grin,** "Oh how rude of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Itazura, second heir to the Kitsune clan after my father, Kitsunebosu."** Naruto nodded in understandment as Itazura continued,** "And by familiar, well it means that I will be the main person you contact when you summon. For summoners in our clan, depending on who is your familiar, it will determine your social class and the amount of respect you hold. The classes go from the boss, to the heirs, to the warriors, to scouts, and then messengers, with the first being the most respected, and the later being the least".**

When Itazura had finished his explanation, Naruto thought it over, "So the warriors, scouts, and messengers will listen to me?" **"Yes and No,"** Itazura said, **"Yes they will listen to you but not completely because you will still have to gain their respect, and also with father, you will need to earn his if you want any help from him".**

"So what can you do?" Naruto asked as he looked over the fox in front of him. **"Finally, a worthwhile question,"** Itazura said in his playful tone, **"Being a clan heir, I am required to know all of the professions that my clan offers, so I have been taught to be a jack of all trades of sorts. In combat I am proficient, and slowly gaining progress, genjutsus are a piece of cake for me, and my stealth is well known around my clan for the numerous pranks I pull. Hehehe, Bodigado must still be cleaning paint out of his hair".**

Naruto smiled at the thought of having another prankster as a friend, "Well I can gladly say that we have some things in common. I will be an honor to work with you Itazura, just call me Naruto". Itazura gave a small, sincere smile, **"The same, Naruto, summon me later and we will work out all the details, but until then, Ja Ne!"** and in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Rakki cleared his throat to gain his students attention, "Well I must say that you got lucky there, Kit, having an heir as the familiar is a major pull in that clan, but now on to the second reason I brought you here". Rakki pulled the katana out of the ground and tossed it to Naruto.

"In Kumo, to become jonin rank, it is required that you have some sort of skill in kenjutsu", Rakki said as he began to pull up his own sleeve to reveal a sealing tattoo. When he pushed blood on the ink, a small katana, easily four feet in length appeared. The design was simple, almost identical to the one Naruto had, but the handle was wrapped in red a black tape, while the blade had a long red tail running up it.

"Each sword has it's own name, which is normally given by the wielder or by

The master. For example, my sword's name is Chio, or Bloodtail, basically because I slaughtered over 200 ninja with it". Naruto widened his eyes, unsure whether to be awed, or horrified.

"This however is a practice blade, you will not get your own until you can wield a sword properly. So until then I want you to read and practice the kenjutsu scrolls I left in your room along with your normal routine while I am gone. When I return I will observe whether kenjutsu is an appropriate fighting style for you", Rakki said as he began to walk towards the harbor.

"I will be back in around a month, so until then no slacking off, got that, Kit. I want to be completely blown away when I return". Then he disappeared in a shunshin, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.

"Hai sensei," Naruto said quietly, before he rushed to his room to begin reading the scrolls.

* * *

><p>Ameyuri Ringo was annoyed. For the past two years of her life, she had been on the run from the hunter-nin of Kiri, trying to keep a low profile to all of the bandits and other hidden villages so she would not have anymore trouble, and finally, she was no closer to finding a cure.<p>

Ameyuri was part of the few Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu, and also the only female member. Her skills with her swords, the Kibas, were legendary, saying that she could cut through anything with a single swipe of her twin blades. However, with the start of the Bloodline Wars, many of the members were suspected of carrying Kekkei Genkai and were either hunted or killed.

Since Ameyuri used a flow of Raiton chakra to enhance her strikes, she was to be brought up for questioning ,then execution on her supposed Kekkei Genkai. However, before she would let that happen, she joined Zabuza Momochi, a fellow member in a coup d'état of the Mizukage. However their efforts were in vain as Yagura not only defeated them, but also managed to poison Ameyuri's chakra pathways, making it almost impossible to mold or control chakra.

After she had escaped Kiri, she discovered from a traveling doctor that the poisoning was slowly killing her, and that she would not make it much longer. Her estimated time was almost two months before she hit the dirt.

She observed her surroundings for the twentieth time since she had entered the bar, a trait she had picked up after being on the run for so long. She was in a small coastal town in Yu and was planning on staying for about a month before moving on. It was not good to stay in one place for more than that, otherwise the hunter-nin would find her.

Ameyuri sighed as she took another sip of her drink and flicked a strand of her light blue hair away from her face. She was wearing a simple kimono wear the light imprints of waves could be seen. On her sides was the twin blade, Kiba, which she would never take off.

Drinking had become sort of a habit for Ameyuri, "why not?", in her opinion, if she was going to die, might as well be drunk off her ass as well. She hated that side of her, it was just so depressing, even if she was having a good time, that voice would pierce her thoughts and reminder her that it was the end for her.

After slowly staggering out of the bar, she proceeded to make her way down the busy market place. Even when drunk she had the talent to avoid the commoners and fishermen as they went on with their daily lives.

She had just reached the inn she was staying at when she felt something, something…odd. It felt like chakra but had a weird pull to it. It felt wild and untamed, not the normal charka signature from a hunter-nin, who normally kept their restores hidden or had a very small one to begin with.

Against her better judgment, she decided to investigate and took to the trees in the direction of the chakra. When she arrived, she was surprised to see a training ground, completely covered in craters and scorch marks. From Ameyuri's observation, the damage seemed to be done by Raiton and Katon justus.

She then began to look around for the person who had caused this damage and was shocked once again to see a boy, no older than 10, slashing at a tree with a dull katana. Ameyuri could see that he was not that good, but he did have potential.

The boy stood in a white sweatshirt and ninja pants, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his body. Though the boy's form was horrible, he did have the strength, speed, and endurance to become a powerful swordsman.

Ameyuri watched for close to an hour as the boy continuously practice different slashes into the tree. As she watched, she soon concluded that the form was the problem. It was not that he did not have the talent, but that the form was built for someone who had strong center gravity and could take hits but then quickly counter with their own. The boy's body was built to deal quick and devastating blows to an opponent, while keeping close enough to easily block any attack that they tried.

This was a similar problem that Ameyuri used to have, because most sword styles were as if dancing with their enemies, hers was quick and brutal, planning on ending the battle in the quickest and most damaging manner. When it was close to noon, the blonde boy finally stopped and moved over to his pack, only to pull out a box of Dangos.

Ameyuri's stomach growled. With her latest drinking binge, she was now strapped for cash. She would normally just do a quick assassination mission or something easier, but Yu had never had many of those types of missions so she was stuck.

Just then a brilliant idea popped into her head. As she continued to think it through, a small grin made its way onto her face. 'Oh this is going to be fun', she thought, before jumping to meet the small blonde.

* * *

><p>Naruto angrily popped a Dango into his mouth. Rakki had left three days ago and he had not made any improvement on his kenjutsu. After he had left, Naruto had gone straight to the room and spent the entire night reading the scroll until he could recite them by memory. But even if he knew about the style, it was far different from being able to do it.<p>

"**There is more to kenjutsu then just style, Kit,"** Said Kyuubi inside the mindscape. Over the past years, Kyuubi and Naruto had somewhat bonded, being able to call themselves the lightest meaning of the word, friends. Even though Kyuubi constantly made brash and sexual comments about many of the woman Naruto saw, causing him to never see the woman the same again, he would put in a useful comment or some words of encouragement every once and awhile.** "From what I can see, you are just not right for this style, it requires a strong base, while you like to jump around and randomly attack vitals".**

Naruto nodded at the fox's words, and was about to reach and grab another Dango when he found that the box was now empty. Looking around, he soon noticed a young woman who was sitting on a stump of a tree, eating his Dangos. She had light blue hair with pale hazel eyes, her kimono was plain except for a light arrange of waves that were the texture of the dress. Her stance, though relaxed, expressed a feeling of respect.

"Thanks for the snack," the woman said as she finished off the last of the treat. Ameyuri again reexamined the boy. Now that she was closer, she could see that he had a slim, muscular build, and sapphire blue eyes. When she saw the whisker marks, she had to beat her inner fan girl with a stick to keep herself from glomping the poor boy.

When Naruto finally regained his shock of being snuck up on, he took an offensive stance, ready for attack, "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The light blue haired woman gave a soft smile, which lowered Naruto's guard a bit, "My name is Ameyuri, and who are you?"

"Naruto, but you still haven't answered my question," he said but as he begun to pull of a kunai, he felt two iron blades, one on his neck, and the other on his stomach. Ameyuri was standing right behind him, holding the swords in place, her kind smile replaced with a scowl.

"It is not very polite to pull a dagger on a stranger Naruto-san," her voice was so cold that Naruto shivered. "But considering that this is probably your first actual meeting with a woman and your whiskers are so cute, we will forget you did that," Ameyuri's tone had changed from ice cold to happy as she removed her swords from Naruto's neck, but not before pinching his cheek.

After releasing his breath, Naruto looked back at Ameyuri, "Ano, but what are you doing here, Ameyuri-san," his tone much more polite and controlled than before. She gave him the same kind smile as she did before, "That was good Naruto-kun. Well, to answer your question, I was walking near here when I heard you training and decided to take a peek. I was quite impressed with the jutsus, but your kenjutsu seems a bit lacking, doesn't it".

Naruto's mouth dipped into a frown on the last part, "I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I am copying the style exactly like in the scroll, but it just feels…wrong". Ameyuri nodded at his statement, "You aren't doing anything wrong", Naruto's eyes moved to Ameyuri, "It is just that you are not built for this style of kenjutsu, while the style I saw you trying to use focuses on defense rather than attacks, you yourself like to attack more, and not give the time for the opponent to attack".

Naruto's eyes widened after hearing that, as it was the same thing that Kyuubi said. "So…if I find another style that fits me, I could use that instead," he asked hopefully. "Yep, which pretty much brings me to why I am here", Ameyuri said as she put her swords back into their sheaths.

"Here's my deal, currently I am a bit low on cash and can not afford my necessities, so if you pay for the things I need, I will help you with your training. I'll even throw in some lessons on how to treat a lady- it will be pretty fun if I remember the last time I taught it". Ameyuri giggled as she thought how she had forced all of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu to learn her class, on threat of being castrated.

While Naruto watched the giggling woman in front of him, he pondered how he was going to answer. **"Do it, Kit,"** the Kyuubi's voice echoing through his thoughts. 'Why should I?' Naruto thought back, 'Why should I take an offer from a woman I just met?' **"One, you are absolutely horrible at kenjutsu, and she is offering to help you. Two, by the way she is giggling about the etiquette lessons, I would not want to see what would happen if you refused",** The Kyuubi put it shortly.

After Ameyuri had finished her giggles, Naruto accepted her deal, and they both shook on it. "So anything I should be improving on in this style," Naruto asked. Ameyuri took the katana out of his hands. She moved her hands expertly down the blade, changed grips, and after two minutes, she said, "Nothing of value," and threw it up into the air, before obliterating it with a Raiton Jutsu.

Naruto looked at her wide-eyed, "What the hell was that for?" he screamed, to which Ameyuri just smacked him on the head with the butt of her sword. "Rule one for etiquette, women are always right, you will survive a lot longer if you take that to heart. Second, that sword was pointless for the style I am going to be teaching you".

She then pulled up the hem of her kimono to show a sealing tattoo on her right calves. When she added blood, two swords, almost identical to the ones around her waist, appeared in her hands. She then proceeded to give both swords to Naruto, and make a** Mizu Bushnin** that got in a fighting stance.

"Follow my clone's movements, while I make adjustments". Naruto wanted to clarify, but his head still hurt from that last hit so he just went along with it.

* * *

><p>It continued like that for about a week; Naruto would spend hours mimicking Ameyuri's bushnin, while the real Ameyuri would correct his footing, grips, etcetera if they needed any. After that they had moved to spars, where Ameyuri would train Naruto to adapt during the fight to different types of attacks. At about sunset everyday, they would finish training and Naruto would take Ameyuri out to dinner, to learn table manors, social etiquette, and other valued social traits.<p>

Ameyuri had also forbid Naruto to wear his mask in town, saying that he needed to confront his fears. She always had a good laugh as she watched him get mauled by rabid fan girls.

During their time together, they had both taken a liking to each other; Naruto even began to call Ameyuri, 'Ameyuri-nee-chan'. She was surprised when she first heard this, but gave him a hug in appreciation.

The two were currently in a small bar, where Naruto was watching Ameyuri drink herself numb. He had observe quickly that she was a heavy drinker, but the last week she had been really over doing it. Ameyuri tried to grab another drink, but before she could reach it, Naruto moved it out of her grasp.

"What's going on Ameyuri-nee-chan?" he asked, he could not just leave her like this, "If you keep on drinking like that, you'll be dead by tomorrow". Ameyuri looked at Naruto, silently judging whether she should tell him. After a couple of seconds, she motioned for him to follower her.

After they had left the bar, they walked in silence to the spot where they had first met. Ameyuri then began to loosen her top, causing Naruto to blush. **"YES! I knew this would lead to something!"** Kyuubi cheered from his cage.

But Ameyuri did not remove her entire top; she only moved the cloth away from her stomach, to reveal a long scar. Naruto could tell that their had been attempts to heal it, but the skin around it was dead and black. "I got this from fighting the Mizukage," she started, gaining Naruto's attention, "Me and another member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu, tried to stage a revolt, but he defeated us and ending up poisoning me. Currently I have about a month left". Naruto looked at her in horror, he deeply cared for Ameyuri, enough that he had made her one of his precious people, he could not stand to see her die.

"The way I see it, I am going to die anyway, so why not leave something here that people will remember me by", said Ameyuri as she tightened her kimono. "I can see it, Naruto-kun, you are going to be great, and along with my sword style, you might even be one of the top shinobi in all of the elementals. You have learned my style almost flawlessly, the only thing you need now is my final secret, and how I can cut through almost anything. But, after I show you, the heavy use of chakra will probably kill me".

Tears were beginning to well up in Naruto's eyes, he tried to back away, he tried to stop her, but before he could do anything, he was pulled into a fierce hug. "Don't be sa,d Naruto-kun, if I had not met you, I would have been filled with sadness until I died. But thanks to you, I can leave in peace". She then kissed him on his forehead, and backed away.

"Now the secret is to channel your Raiton chakra at a slightly wild current down the blade, just think of a saw cutting down a tree. Then after you have that, just speeds it up". Ameyuri's blades began to glow a light blue, and her breathing became heavy. She then rushed over to a group of rocks, and in an instant, the once mighty boulders were nothing more than a pile of pebbles.

She collapsed after that, Naruto rushed to her aid, moving her body, trying to make it as comfortable as he could. "I will miss you,Ameyuri-nee-chan, he said, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks. She gave him that same warm smile she had when they had met, "I will miss you too Ototo," and with her last bit of strength, she pushed the Kibas into his hands, before death finally took her.

Naruto stayed there for a while before he actually moved. He slowly dug a large hole at the base of the tree that he had met her at, and then gently lowered Ameyuri's corpse into the ground. When the hole was filled again, he carved her name into the bark of the tree, and stabbed the two training swords into the dirt.

* * *

><p>This was the scene that Rakki came by when he returned to find his student, staring at a tree with two swords at the base of it. When he moves closer, he recognized the name and to his shock, looked to find the twin Kibas, hoisted at Naruto's waist.<p>

After carefully reading the situation, he moved over to Naruto and put his hand on his shoulder. Naruto didn't even jump; he just looked up at Rakki with red puffy eyes, to which he responded with a somber smile. "She's in a better place now Kit," he said softly, to which Naruto nodded before, turning around and walking to the inn to grab his stuff.

'Now would not be the best time to tell him' thought Rakki as he watched Naruto leave.

**Flashback:**  
>Rakki sat in a lively bar, off the coast of Hi no Kuni. There was a bachelor party going on in the background and the mood was drunk and happy. Rakki looked over to his escort, a busty brunette with light brown eyes. She wore a tight one piece made out of light fabric, that was only held up by her giant D cups.<p>

"Why don't we find a more…comfortable place?" he said, his voice dripping with lust. The woman gave him a playful smirk, "Anything for you Rakki-sama". He grinned as he led the way to an empty room upstairs. When they had arrived he quickly locked the door and placed a silencing seal on the wall.

"So what were you able to find out?" Rakki asked, his previous demeanor gone. "You were right about the village hating him," the woman said as she moved to sit on the bed, "They still celebrate his 'death'". Rakki frowned, "Ami, does anyone at all miss him?" he asked, trying to find a bit of good news. The woman, now known as Ami, nodded, "Not that much, but they are there. The Hokage has completely changed since he left, also there are a couple of jonins that I have seen acting a bit saddened whenever his name is brought up. But the biggest thing I've seen is this small ramen stand, where they actually have a photo of him in the store, and anyone who insults it, is kicked out".

Rakki smiled at that, making a mental note to someday find and pay the family handsomely for their kindness. "And what about the _other_ thing I asked you to look up?" he asked. This was the main reason he had come here. Ami reached into her purse, and pulled out a small vial of blood, "It was a bitch to get, but it proves it. Uzumaki Naruto is the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato". She tossed the vial to Rakki, who hid it in his cloak.

"Well now he has good blood and an adorable face, oh .if he were just a couple of years older", Ami pretended to swoon. Rakki just rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well thanks for the help. Just keep me posted and we will talk soon", he said as he began to walk out the door. "Say hi to Naru-kun for me, and tell him that my door is always open" Ami said with a wink.

**End of Flashback:**

'I can't tell him now, maybe later when all this has blown over,' Rakki thought as he followed his student to his room.

* * *

><p><span>Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu:<span> The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist

**Now the next Chapter is going to be fun to write, Read and Review.**


	4. First Day in Kumo

**Hey how is everyone doing? I decided for a Halloween Treat, I would sit down and write a new chapter. Sure it was taxing, but in the end worth it. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc. speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

Two shadows walked along a rocky and jagged path in Kaminari no Kuni. The sun sparked down on the abundance of mountain ranges and small rivers that meandered through the landscape.

The figure in front was Samayou Rakki, member of the Kumo no San-Soku, and Kitsune Sennin, while his apprentice, 12 year old Uzumaki Naruto, walked a few feet behind him.

Naruto now stood at 5'4'', a respectable height for someone his age. His sunshine color hair had grown in length, but not to the point where it had lost its spikiness. The same black mask covered his face from the nose down, only revealing his bright sapphire blue eyes that shined with determination, and a spark of mischief.

Naruto still wore his rust orange muscle shirt, along with his storm cloud sweatshirt, but add begun to wear black tape around his hands. His shinobi pants looked slightly tattered, but Naruto kept them because they still worked. And along his feet were a pair of black shinobi style sandals.

Across Naruto's back were the twin blades, the Kibas, taking to wearing them everywhere just like his late nee-chan.

Over the years, Naruto's talents for the ninja arts had only grown. With help from the Kitsune clan, his stealth and genjutsu training had given the push he needed. He was now almost like a shadow, slipping in and out of buildings, mostly helping Itazura with a prank of some kind. Though he could still not cast a good genjutsu, he had been able to compromise with recognizing and dispelling C rank genjutsus.

Rakki had overall helped him perfect his kenjutsu and taijutsu to the level he saw adequate. While he did not know the style, he would normally have spars with Naruto to help him during sword combat, giving him a small sort of a battle sense. In taijutsu, Naruto had begun learning the advanced katas of Rakki's personal style, and was well on the way to mastering it.  
>Kyuubi had kept to his word and had begun to teach Naruto to control his Kekkei Genkai, by slowly having him create a red stream of lightning between his thumb and index finger. Like Kyuubi had said, Naruto's futon chakra nature had all but disappeared, only making the slightest of cuts in chakra paper. When it came to adding it to jutsus, the two were deadly together, making up new ways to utilize a jutsu, making it become a diversion or increasing his power.<p>

Naruto's personality had also changed a great deal. He insisted on calling Rakki, 'Rakki-sensei' in public, only using his nickname when they were in private. Though Naruto was still the same person, he would now engage in conversations with many of the girls that they met, trying to get past the inner fan girl and meet the true self. Rakki and Kyuubi often teased that Rakki had some how corrupted him and he would soon be peeking. This had caused horrible nightmares, almost as bad as when Rakki brought him to a brothel for 'sexual education'.

"Are we there yet", Naruto asked, placing his arms behind his head as he looked up at the sky. Rakki gritted his teeth, "As I said the last mile and the mile before that, we will get there when we get there". There was silence for a few minutes before Naruto asked again, "How about umpf". He was cut off when he ran into Rakki who had just stopped.

Rakki looked back and grinned at Naruto, "Yep we are there Kit, welcome to Kumogakure, the most beautiful of all the hidden villages".

Naruto was awed by what he saw. The city was a collection of tall mountains, with the building built into the walls. Large pathways connected the different buildings and large clouds descended atop the tips of the peaks. At the center of the village was a large glass dome, most likely the Raikage's office, along with the center of trade for the town. When Naruto looked down he could see that the base of the mountains were brimming with activity. People walked up and down the streets, engaging in conversations about trade, school, and daily life.

"Amazing isn't it Kit," Rakki said, gaining his student's attention, "No matter what I see in this world, this is the most amazing".

He then turned to Naruto, "Alright, as soon as we enter that village there are some rules I want you to go by. Rule one, try to keep your true abilities secret, deception is the key for a ninja, even from your comrades. Rule two, do not tell ANYONE, that I am your sensei; to say the least it will cause…complications. And Rule three, you will be attending the ninja academy for the next year before you become a full shinobi. Just try and make some friends your age".

"Ne Ero-Masuta, why do I need to go to the academy? I have already learned the basics, and the history you taught me should keep me up", Naruto asked, confused about why his sensei wanted him to relearn what he had spent his childhood on.

Rakki scoffed, "I could careless what those week ass pencil pushers teach you, but this is a away to learn about your future teammates and other teams. Information is the key".

Naruto nodded in confirmation, Rakki then turned and began to walk to the gate, "I got to go clear up some things, use your passport to enter the city and do something productive". And with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'Hmm what do you think would be a productive way to spend our time?' Naruto thought to his inmate. After a couple seconds, both yelled, **"Ramen!"** and left to find the nearest Ramen stand.

* * *

><p>Due to Kumogakure being a mostly military operated city, the council was made up of the few clans, the civilians who had monopolies on trade or stores, and finally the Raikage, A, the elders, and the two appointed members, Chiasa Ayumi and Takashi Manabu, both members of the Kumo no San-Soku.<p>

A, the Yondaime Raikage and rumored to be the fastest man in all of the elemental countries, sighed as he listened to the council talk about the trade agreements and other boring subjects. He could easily be outside with Kirabi sparing, or lifting weights, but no, he had to be here and just nod or shake is head.

He was brought out of his musing when one of the clan members spoke, "Back to our previous discussion from last week, all attempts to find Samayou Rakki, our third Sennin, have been a failure".

"Not surprising," said Takashi, "He may be an baka, but when it comes to stealth, there are few that can find him. What we need are the hunter-nin". A frowned a bit, Takashi and Rakki had always been at odds, always trying to out do the other, whether it is at strength or social status.

"That is not an excuse," said another clan member, "He has been missing for six years, we have tried again and again to have the hunter-nin sent after him, but Raikage-sama refuses. He must be here to fulfill his responsibilities".

Chiasa scoffed, "Right like he had a choice. You were forcing an apprentice on him, if I had the choices that you were giving him, I would hightail it out of here too". This caused A to give a small smile; Chiasa was always the median of the team, literally beating the sense into her comrades. She was always a kind and understanding person, while a bit brash.

"That was all we could offer," the first civilian member said, "Kumo is out numbered by the other villages in bloodlines and numbers, and we need to gain every advantage we can if war breaks out". A finally spoke, "While I agree that bloodlines do not make a shinobi, they do help, but with the last attempt my father had on taking the byakugan, the other villages are cautious of us".

"Which is why we need Rakki back, as protection and as someone who can train the next generation," said the second clan member. "I agree," said Takashi, "Rakki needs to do his part in passing on his miniscule amount of knowledge. Even if he has to teach a civilian family member, it will show him he should have started earlier". Chiasa just glared at Takashi but remained silent.

A sighed, "Alright fine, though I do not think that it will do much good, I will send a team of hunter-nin to find my pupil".

"How about I just save you the time instead, eh sensei?" a voice rang through the chamber. The council members quickly began to scan the room, until they found Samayou Rakki of the Kumo no San-Soku, sitting on the ceiling eating a Dango.

"Rakki-sama you are here!" yelled one of the council members. A couldn't help but smirk, Chiasa grinned, and Takashi showed an aura of disinterest. Rakki dropped down to the floor and looked around the room, "Man if I knew you were going to send the hunter-nin I would have waited to come home. Those guys can be so much fun".

"That is fine and all, but Rakki-san, where have you been?" asked Eiji Goro, one of the elders. "Why I have been doing my part to protect Kumo, my fine wrinkled friend", Rakki said which caused Eiji to scowl, "I have been travelling around the continent, making sure that there were absolutely no plots to destroy Kumo, and lucky their were none".

"And what did you learn on your travels?" questioned another clan member. Rakki leaned in as if he was going to tell a secret, "Raikage's ears only" he said giving them a foxy grin.

Though the council was annoyed by this predicament, A could not help but chuckle, his student had always loved to jerk the council around.

Finally after he had regained his composure, Eiji asked, "So have you come back to fulfill your duties as a Sennin?" Rakki just looked at him with a bored gaze, "If my 'duties' include taking one of your snot nosed brats and training them to be a killing machine, then no. I said it before and I will say it again, those kids do not have that much potential".

"You have to take one sometime Rakki-sukebe," said Takashi, putting in his two cents. Rakki sent a glare at his teammate, "And why exactly do I have to do that, eh Taki-gei?" throwing in his nickname to irk him.

Takashi scowled at the name, but continued, "It is the job of a Sennin, and we must pass on the mantle to the next generation". Rakki sighed because he knew that he was right, "Fine I'll take one, but not now. I want to have at least a year to relax before hell starts".

A's eyes widened, 'that was way too easy', he had seen Rakki argue over what to eat for lunch harder than this. A civilian member spoke, "So who will you be training?" Rakki just shrugged, "I'll pick next year, but I can tell you that it will not be one of your brats".

A chuckled again at how Rakki had knocked the pride out of the council members. "Okay it is decided," A said in a loud voice, "Rakki will pick an apprentice next year. Now if you excuse me, if what my student said is true, we have some things to discuss". He then jumped out of his chair, grabbed Rakki and shunshined to his office, effectively ending the meeting.

* * *

><p>When the two arrived at A's office, he quickly sent the ANBU out and activated the silencing seals around the office so that they would not be disturbed. A's face then became serious, "Ok what have you learned, and you also better explain what the fuck just happened in the council chambers".<p>

"What do you mean sensei?" Rakki feigned innocence. "Don't give me that," A rose his voice, "I've seen you argue harder for toppings on food, then something that can very well change your life comes along, and you don't even try".

Rakki gave him a smile, not one of his giant grins, but a true smile. "You could always see through me A-sensei, I won't tell you, but I will help you figure it out, because it has a lot to do with what I learned on my travels".

A became intrigued and motioned Rakki to continue. "Alright, now what happens next year?" Rakki asked. A pounded his head as he thought, most of the mind games Rakki played only seemed hard, but once finding out the answer, seemed almost like child's play. "The only things I can think of that happen next year is the annual visit from the daimyo, and…the academy graduations".

Then it all clicked inside the Raikage's head, "You already have one don't you". It was more of a statement that a question. Rakki grinned before pulling out some forms from his cloak, " I knew you would get it, that is why I need you to sign these".

A looked over the paperwork, making sure everything was in order, and then put it on his desk, "I will make sure that these get through, but there are a lot of blanks. Mainly with the child's family".

Rakki lost his grin and took a very serious posture, "The reason for that is that this kid being on our side could lead to two different futures". "And they would be?" questioned A.

"One could lead to Kumo, becoming the strongest of the elemental nations, the other could lead to the Forth Great Shinobi War", Rakki put it simply. A was shocked; war was something few joked about, especially those who had lived through it. "Who are the boy's parents?" he demanded, not taking any of Rakki's jokes.

"Rakki sighed, "His name is Uzumaki Naruto, but in truth it is Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, son of Kushina Uzumaki, the Akai Chishio no Habanero and Minato Namikaze, Yondaime Hokage and the Konoha no Kiiro Senko".

A was speechless, even a bit of blood left his face, 'If those two had a kid, he would be a weapon of mass destruction. Minato Namikaze was the only man he had ever faced who was faster than him. If he had a son, there was no doubt that his son would soon surpass him.

"How did you find him?" A asked. If Naruto really were the son of those two, it would have not been easy to get him. "I found him when he was 6, crucified to a cross a couple of miles outside of Konohagakure", said Rakki with a bit of malice in his voice.

This shocked A again, "Why would they do that? It makes no sense. Why would they leave the Hero of Konoha's son out in the woods to die?" A was horrified and disgusted that villagers would even do such a thing to a child.

"Sensei," Rakki said, gaining his teacher's full attention, "He's like Kirabi, only I think he has had it much worse".

That explained it, the boy was a Jinchuriki, and they were normally hated because of what they held. But in Kumo, Kirabi had changed all that, only leaving a bit of caution when dealing with him, or their other Jinchuriki, Nii Yugito, Jinchuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata.

After A had regained his composer, he asked, "How is Konoha dealing with all this?" "Honestly they still celebrate his death", said Rakki still angered about how they treated his pupil, "It seems that he was all alone their and only had a few friends, namely the Hokage, and a small ramen stand".

A sighed, "So now Kumo is the owner of three Jinchuriki. You were right about the two possibilities we have". Rakki nodded, " I have brought him back to experience the last year of school and get some friends. Due to moving around a lot, he has never known that many people his age".

"I will keep his status and heritage a secret, but I will inform Kirabi about his status so they could begin training to harness the Kyuubi", said A as he moved to sit at his desk. "I was going to ask you to do that anyways", Rakki said as he made to leave.

"Rakki," A called out, Rakki stopped mid step, "This boy, Naruto, how good is he?" Rakki turned around to face his teacher, and shot him a small grin, " To be honest, in a couple of years, he may be taking that hat from you sensei, he has always has had a fixation for becoming a Kage". And with that, Rakki disappeared in a puff of smoke.

A chuckled, 'well Naruto, welcome to Kumo' he thought as he got back to the losing battle, paperwork.

* * *

><p>"God Dammit where is it!" yell Naruto as he trudged through the busy streets of Kumo. He had been searching for a ramen stand for close to 2 hours and had so far come up with nothing. All he had found was the academy, which he filed under 'remember later' and the red light district, where his mask had fallen off, giving the woman there a good look at his face. 'That was a long hour of running and hiding' thought Naruto as he continued to look for the ramen stand. <strong>"I still think that you should have gotten caught,"<strong> said Kyuubi, **"If you are gay Kit, I don't care if it does kill me, I will rip you to shreds".**

Naruto was brought out of his conversation with his inner demon, when he heard a couple of grunts coming from behind him. When he turned, he saw a young woman, most likely 13 or 14, carrying a bit too many bags of groceries. She had light gray hair that fell down her back, and a pair of B cups that were barely visible underneath her apron. Now Naruto being the gentlemen he was, could not let her carry all of those back to wherever she was going on her own.

"Do you need some help Miss?" he asked. The woman looked up to see Naruto standing next to her. She had emerald green eyes, which almost distracted Naruto enough to not hear her answer. "If it would not be to much trouble," she asked a bit sheepishly. Naruto gave her an eye smile, "It would be no problem at all". She blushed at the eye smile, and let him remove two of the bags from her arms.

Naruto followed her for a minute in silence before he asked, "I'm sorry but I never got your name," She turned her head around and smiled at him, "Sorry, my name is Aya, and your name is?" "Uzumaki Naruto" he said as he continued to follow the teen through the alleyways.

"So Naruto-kun, you new to town?" She asked, trying to find out a bit more on the boy. Naruto gave a nervous laugh, "Is it that easy to tell?" Aya giggled, "Yep, especially when you don't know who I am. Almost Everyone in Kumo know about my father's stand and me".

Naruto raised his eyebrow to ask what type of stand it was, but was cut off when Aya said that they were there. They walked into a door with a sign over it that said, 'Maho no aji, that led into a carved out cave. There were many rugs on the ground and booths around the rim. There was a multitude of people having a good time.

He followed Aya behind the counter and helped her put the ingredients away. "So what is it you make here?" he asked, curious about what would attract this many people. "Well we have a lot of foods," said Aya as she turned her back to Naruto to put away some of the vegetables, "we have Dangos, soups, salads, udon, but our biggest seller is our Ramen".

She stopped putting away the food when she heard something drop. Aya looked at Naruto to find that he was frozen with wide eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when he disappeared and reappeared right next to her, and began to give Aya the strongest hug of her life.

"I knew it was fate!" Naruto screamed in joy after he was done hugging Aya, who was blushing like a tomato, after feeling what Naruto really had under his shirt.

'So ripped' she thought, but was soon brought back to reality to see Naruto had moved to the front of the counter and was sitting on one of the chairs.

"Well seeing that you say the ramen is the most popular, I think I will need about seven bowls to try", he said as he grinned underneath his mask. Aya had recovered from her daydream and was giggling at Naruto's antics. "Alright I'll get you a bowl, and it will be on the house for helping me with the groceries".

A few minutes later, she came out of the kitchen with a bowl of steaming hot ramen. When she placed the bowl in front of Naruto, he was about to dig in, but saw that Aya had pulled out a small camera from under the table. "What is that for?" he asked as he watched her set it up. Aya gave him a smirk, "Little tradition I have here, and I take pictures of the faces of people who try our ramen for the first time. So take off that mask and enjoy".

Naruto was about to decline the request, but his stomach was growling for ramen, so without hesitation, he pulled down his mask and took a heavenly sniff of the meal before him.

Aya could hardly believe what she was seeing, most people wore a mask to cover up something that they are ashamed of, but his face only brought one word to her mind, 'hot'. The whiskers alone made her want to tie up the boy and leave him in her room. Aya almost forgot what she was doing until she remembered what she was here to do.

When Naruto took the first bite, he knew he was in heaven. The ramen was one of the best he had ever tasted, being a very close second to the Ichirakus in Konoha. **"Marry her Kit!"** Yelled Kyuubi, **"If you do, all of this delicious food will be ours for free!"** Naruto's lips spread into a large foxy grin, while his eyes rolled to the ceiling. He was only brought back when he heard the click of the camera and a few giggles.

Aya was trying to keep herself from bursting with laughter; the face Naruto had made was going to be a masterpiece in her collection. "That was by far the funniest reaction I have seen so far" Aya got out between giggles. Naruto pouted, causing him to look even more adorable, but quickly forgot about what she had said and went back to the delicious meal.

After finishing 10 bowls in under an hour, which according to Aya was a record, he finally slowed down enough to speak. "That", said Naruto as he patted his stomach, "Was one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. You are an excellent cook Aya-chan". Aya blushed at the additional suffix, "Thank you Naruto-kun, but what are you doing in Kumo?"

Naruto gave her a foxy grin, which seemed to make a little blood flow to her cheeks, "I came here to join the ninja academy". "Really," said Aya, getting a bit more interested, "I know some people who go there, I could introduce you if you'd like, and if you need any information about anyone you meet, just ask me".

Giving her a smile, Naruto pulled up his mask to its original position, much to Aya's disappointment. "That would be great Aya-chan, I better get going but where is the bathroom?" Aya pointed down the hall, "Two doors on your left" she said. Naruto gave her a sheepish look, while scratching the back of his head. This gave Aya the chance to take another picture. "Ops, sorry finger slipped" she pretended to act embarrassed. Naruto just waved it off and walked to find the bathroom.

When he was gone, Aya took out the photograph and looked at it. "Yep, this is defiantly going in my private collection" she said with a giggle.

Just then the door to the restaurant open, making Aya scramble to hide the photo. In the entrance, were Omoi and Samui.

"Ohayo Omoi-san, Samui-chan, what can I get you?" Aya asked, as the two got closer to the counter. Omoi had dark skin with short white spiky hair and had a sucker sticking out of his mouth. He wore a gray overlong shirt with red bandage and shin guards, along with black shinobi style pants. Samui had fair skin, blonde hair that reached down to her shoulders. Her chest easily matched Aya's, being close to B cups and wore a standard Kumo kunoichi uniform, except with a mesh undershirt and a low cut skirt.

"I am fine Aya-san, we just came to relax a bit while Yugito is off doing one of her 'revenge pranks'". Said Samui who had moved her hands to her shoulders and began to rub them. "Dam these back pains," she muttered.

Omoi was still staring at the menu, "Maybe I'll have some Dangos. But what if I get stomach pains and have to go to the hospital, where a pretty nurse will saw that I only have a few days to live. But if I-" he was cut off by Aya hitting him with a spoon. "Just pick one Omoi, I feel that Karui should be doing this. Where is she anyways?"

Omoi rubbed the new bump on his head, "Helping out Yugito". Aya made an o with her mouth before it morphed into a smirk, "Oh so you two are on a date I see, Ah, young love, I am so glad I don't have to deal with the dating scene. Nope all I need is my soul mate and I have found him".

Both Omoi and Samui rolled their eyes at her tease. "So who is 'the one' this week, it would be easier to believe if you didn't have a new one every week" said Samui as she stopped rubbing her shoulders.

Aya sighed, and looked off dreamily into space, "Oh he is so kind, he helped me carry my groceries back to the store to day, then he complemented me on my cooking, oh and his body, mmm it is the body of a god, I got a good feel of it and I can tell you he is ripped. Then his face is the most adorable thing I have ever seen! He has these three little birthmarks on each cheek that look like whiskers. Makes you want to glomp him right there".

Omoi looked at Samui for a translation, who sighed, "Basically, the man was nice to her, likes the food here, and is hot", she said in a stoic voice. Omoi nodded, then looked back to Aya, "So where is your soul mate?" he asked looking around the restaurant.

Aya was startled out of her daydream and began to look around. "He should be riiiiight…AHAH there he is!" finally pointing at a masked blonde who had just exited the bathroom.

The blonde boy walked up to Aya, "Thanks for the meal Aya-chan, I am definitely coming back here", he said in a jovial tone. "My pleasure Naruto-kun, but before you go, I want you to meet some of my friends", Aya motioned to Samui and Omoi, "This is Samui and Omoi, they will also be attending the ninja academy. Guys this is Uzumaki Naruto".

Naruto gave a wave to the pair, who both was still analyzing him. As Samui looked him over, she could tell that Aya had been right about him being cute, though she could not see his face, he had medium length blonde hair like her, but his was a bit more yellow, and still retained some of the spikiness. His eyes were a much brighter blue than hers, sparkling with hints of kindness and caring.

Omoi was the first to respond, "Nice to meet you Uzumaki-san, at first I thought you were going to be mean, and I would have to defeat you in front of everybody, causing your hate to slowly build up inside of you until it exploded". A large sweat drop rolled down Naruto's forehead. **"Wow he really overthinks things",** said the Kyuubi, as Naruto could only mentally nod his head.

Naruto then looked around the restaurant and then turned back to Omoi, "Well none of that has happened so far, so I think we are good. Also call me Naruto, I have never been big on formalities".

Omoi gave a smile, deciding that he liked this guy, and held out his fist, which Naruto tapped with his own. Samui then gave a wave back to Naruto, "So you are going to be in our graduating class. We should at least get you up to speed on what we have been doing", she said.

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, and headed to a booth in the back with Samui and Omoi. Aya still had to work, so she gave a wave and went back to serving customers.

When they arrived, Omoi asked, "Ne Naruto, what is with that facemask?" Naruto gave him a grin underneath his mask, "Personal protection", he said trying to end it right there. "I don't really like people keeping secrets from me," said Samui, who had narrowed her eyes a bit, "I think that we at least deserve to see your face as payment for telling you about the academy".

Naruto wanted to deny the deal, but he really needed to know about the school. 'Information is the key' he thought, and after a sigh, he removed his mask.

Samui couldn't help but let a bit of blood run to her cheeks. Naruto was exactly what Aya had said, hot. The whisker marks made him look a bit wild, and Samui had to stop herself from petting them.

"Samui-san, are you blushing?" asked Omoi as if it were the craziest thing in the world. "N-No!" she quickly stuttered out, regaining her composure. Omoi then looked at Naruto, "I see why you call it 'personal protection', to make Samui blush, those whiskers must be a real turn on. I could only imagine what would happen if a fan girl saw you".

Naruto paled at the thought and just silently nodded, hoping that no fan girl did ever see him with out his mask. "So what do you have to tell me", he asked, quickly trying to get the new thoughts of being chased by mobs of fan girls out of his mind.

"There is only a few things you really need to know," said Samui, who had regained her stoic tone, "Osamu-sensei is a bit of a stickler to the basics, but if you just get what he is talking about, you will do fine. The class is basically divided into two sides, one for the Neko and Ookami, the other for the Kitsune".

"Naruto raised his eyebrow, "Those are the summons that each of the Kumo no San-Soku use, Chiasa Ayumi is the Neko Sennin, Takashi Manabu is the Ookami's, and Rakki Samayou is the Kitsune Sennin".

Omoi nodded, "That's right, the Neko and Ookami side supports Takashi and Chiasa while the other supports Rakki". "Why would they need that?" Naruto asked, still confused, "the three Sennin are supposed to be a team right?"

Samui frowned a bit, "Yes, and they still are, but the question the two sides are arguing is who is the leader of the team, Rakki or Takashi". "From what the jonins have said, those two have been at odds, while many see Takashi as the smarter one, Rakki is considered to be the strongest shinobi, and is supposed to have hundreds of contacts in lots of countries".

Naruto nodded in understandment, "Which side are you on?" he asked, unsure on whether he should root for his sensei, or the other guy. "Me, Yugito, Aya, Omoi, Karui, and a few others support Rakki, but that is mostly because Kirabi, the Jinchuriki of the Hachibi, thinks so", said Samui as she began to massage her shoulders again.

"Alright, anything else?" Naruto asked, still a bit curious about the debate on whom was the leader of the Kumo no San-Soku. "Just some minor things," said Omoi, as he unwrapped another sucker to stick in his mouth, "Yugito, apprentice of Kirabi, is also a Jinchuriki, so don't mess with her, we won't mess with you," he sent a glare at Naruto who just nodded; he knew what it was like to be despised for no good reason.

"Also don't get between her and Yuriko Sango. She is the apprentice of Chiasa, and while her master may be kind, she is definitely spoiled rotten and the number one fan girl for Naoki Minoru, head of the Ookami and Neko side and also the apprentice of Takashi. He is kind of an arrogant brat, so just try to ignore him".

"What about the apprentice of Rakki?" Naruto asked feigning ignorance. "There isn't one," Samui put it curtly as she finished her self massage, "When they tried to push one on him a couple of years ago, he ran for it, but I guess a lot of people would if they had the choices he did".

Naruto sighed again and looked at the clock, "Well I better be getting to the inn, thanks for the help, see your tomorrow, I guess". He stood up and reattached his mask. Omoi gave him a fist bump, and Samui was about to stand up as well, when her foot caught onto the leg of the table and began to fall.

On instinct, Naruto went to catch her, grabbing her just before she it the ground. They stayed like that for a few moments before they both realized the position that they were in, and quickly separated. "Thanks", Samui said quietly, a light blush apparent on her face. "N-No problem", Naruto responded, thanking kami that his mask was on, otherwise she would have seen his blush. "Well I better go, later Omoi, see ya Samui-chan". And with that Naruto left the restaurant.

As soon as he was gone, Aya came up with a smirk on her face, "What was that Samui, you trying to feel up my future boyfriend hmm". Samui quickly regained her composure and gave a blank stare to Aya, "You have to start dating him before he can be your boyfriend".

"Aya's grin grew a bit larger, "And the fall?" Samui stiffened a bit, "I was just…confirming if everything you said about him was true". Aya's grin looked like it was going to split her face, "Aaaaand", she said in a singsong voice. Samui looked at her feet, trying to hide the small blush forming on her face, "You…you were right", she said, leaving a shocked Omoi, and a Aya rolling on the floor laughing.

* * *

><p>Naruto walked down the street to the inn he was staying at. Due to his morning of searching for ramen, he had ended up going around most of the city and knew a general map of the area. It was night when he had finally left the restaurant, he was still wondering about the argument going on, and about the other two Jinchuriki.<p>

'Hey Kyuubi, how is the Hachibi?' he thought to his mindscape. **"Well when I knew him, he was wild and crazy on the outside, while in private he could act calm and relaxed, easily carrying on a conversation", **said Kyuubi as prepared to sleep.

'And what about the other one, any idea about who the other Jinchuriki holds?' Naruto asked again. **"Your guess is as good as mine Kit, but if I had too, the only biju that I know of that disappeared close to here was the Nibi, and trust me Kit, she is a true sexual demon. Imagine all of the comments I make about women, the multiply it by a thousand. That is what it is like to be her container"** Kyuubi said. His tone than began a bit more frightful, **"And if you are unlucky enough to be chosen to be her mate, then there is few things that can stop her. Believe me I know"** Kyuubi shivered at the memory.

Naruto waited for anything else, but when he heard nothing, he sighed. "Well I guess we will just have to see it our selves".

* * *

><p><span>Konoha no Kiiro Senko:<span> The Yellow Flash of Konoha

Akai Chishio no Habanero: The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero

Kumo no san-Soku: The Three Paws of Cloud

* * *

><p><strong>Alright here is the thing. A lot of people have been asking about who is going to be in the Harem, so i have decided to let you decide. I am setting up a poll to about who should be in the harem<strong>

**Yugito, Samui, and Aya,(my OC are already in it)**

**your other picks are:**

**Mei**

**Fu**

**Temari**

**Anko**

**Kurenai**

**OC**

**Yugao**

**Any other girls you might want to add, just vote for them, but please no Guy on Guy please**

**Vote and Review**


	5. Meeting the Cat

**Hey long time no see. Sorry i havent written in awhile, but I did start at the begin of November...but didn't have time to do it since. Hope you enjoy.**

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc. speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

The sun peeked through the shades of Naruto's room, the rays settling on his face. Naruto tried to keep his eyes closed, but it was all for naught, as he reluctantly left his peaceful slumber.

He pushed himself up and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a small apartment, complete with a bedroom, kitchen, living room, and bath. The coloring was modest an even, and the tables and chairs did not have a spec of dust on them. Naruto moved his focus to a small nightstand. '6:30' Naruto thought as he groggily rose from bed, 'two whole hours until the academy starts'.

Seeing that he was not going back to sleep anytime soon, Naruto rose from his bed, and stumbled into the bathroom. He had just set the shower to the perfect temperature, and was about to step in; when he heard the heavy snores coming from inside his head.

Prankster side kicking in, Naruto blasted the water temperature to the coldest it could go. Bracing himself, he entered the spray of icy water. **"COLD!"** Kyuubi screamed, woken from his slumber by the feeling of ice-cold water all over his body. Naruto gave a tired chuckle, then quickly returned the water to its previous temp, to enjoy his shower.

"**You dick,"** said Kyuubi, clearly not happy about the manor in which he had woken up. 'I'm not apologizing', thought Naruto back to the fox, 'that was the most fun I have had in awhile'. **"I will get revenge…starting now,"** said Kyuubi as he started to send an image of when Naruto had caught Rakki and an escort together.

The thought of a naked Rakki instantly widen Naruto's eyes in horror. "MY EYES! OH DEAR KAMI MY EYES ARE BURNING!" he screamed, covering his face with his hands. Kyuubi laughed at his container's reaction, **"Just remember, you deserved that one".**

When Naruto had recovered, he proceeded to wonder about his first day at the academy. From the people he had met so far, Samui and Omoi seemed to be trustworthy people, and good shinobi in training. However their opinions on his other classmates were interesting to say the least, especially the two apprentices and Jinchuriki.

Rakki had never said that much about his teammates. Whenever the question was brought up, he would ignore it, bring up a new subject, or, if he had any, throw some sharp kunai at Naruto. Naruto had learned very quickly that this was a sore subject for him. The only thing he had been able to learn about them was that Takashi was a 'Golden Asshole' and that Chiasa was a 'Beautiful Brute', but other than that, Rakki was silent about them.

Naruto respected his choice to not want to talk about them, just like Rakki respected Naruto's wish to not talk about his life in Konoha. Naruto eyes dimmed a bit, he had tried to keep all thoughts of Konoha out of his head, excluding Jiji and the Ichirakus of course.

When it came to the villagers, Naruto felt…irritated. Not angry or filled with rage, just irritated, like it was a small bug that would never leave you alone. Naruto knew that his heritage did not come from Konoha; he was an Uzumaki, a survivor of a once powerful clan. A clan so powerful that it had its own hidden village, Uzushiogakure, best known for their Fuin Jutsu skills and they're notoriously long lives.

Though Naruto knew of his clan's ties to Konoha, he had long since decided that he that was his past, and that Kumo was his future.

Naruto soon was snapped out of his train of though when he realized that he had been in the shower for close to 45 minutes. He turned off the water and began to start his daily routine. When Naruto had exited the bathroom, he quickly made some instant ramen and did some stretches while waiting.

When the ramen was done, Naruto wolfed it down, and then proceeded to make 3 more cups, which were eaten at similar speeds. As Naruto was about to leave his room, he noticed a small letter on the counter. He went over to examine it, only to find the word _Kit_, written on it. Curious, Naruto opened the letter to see why his master had written him, other than just coming to talk.

_Kit,_

_Sorry I can't do this personally, but if the villagers found out that I was teaching you, they would go ballistic. If you haven't already found out, the council, in all its glory, tried to push an apprentice on me a couple of years ago. The choices I had were shitty to none so I hightailed it out of there. I eventually met you and took you under mu wing, but people will not take kindly to a kid from another village being the apprentice to one of the Sennin._

_So, here on out, I need you to continue training whenever you can. Just do your warm ups and try to master some of the simpler Jutsus you know without hand signs. I don't really care what you do in the academy, but for kami's sakes, make some friends. You really need to know people your own age group. And who knows, you might even find a stunning young girl to 'play' with. _(Rakki drew himself giving a pervy grin)

_The same rules apply from what I told you yesterday, and only summon if you need to._

_Ja Ne,_

_Rakki_

_P.S. You need to come meet the Raikage when classes are over._

_P.P.S. Don't prank your teacher too badly, we need them…sort of._

_P.P.P.S. The store to the right of the inn you are staying at serves the best tea in the mornings._

Naruto sighed and burned the note with a simple Katon jutsu. 'I have a feeling this is going to be a boring year' he thought to himself as he locked the door to his room and walked off to find the store Rakki had told him about.

* * *

><p>Yugito gave a loud yawn, "So Tired!" she whined as she moved to lay on a row of desks. Samui sighed, "I bet you are, after you spent all night trying to break into Naoki's house for one of your 'revenge pranks'. Why did you even try when you know that his clan's compound is one of the most secure in the village?"<p>

Yugito, Samui, Omoi and Karui were sitting around a row of desks in the upper right corner of the class near the window. Omoi and Samui wore the same clothes they did the day before.

Yugito had fair skin, long, braided blonde hair, like Samui's, and a pair of cat like, black eyes. She had small A cups that were concealed under a short sleeved purple and black blouse. She had on black ninja pants with cloud outlines on the bottom and purple fingerless gloves. Her arms were covered with ninja tape and also a red belt around her waist.

Karui had dark skin with red hair and amber eyes and yellow earrings and a white bandana that kept her hair down. She wore a similar uniform to Samui, but hers had frills on the neck and she had thigh high boots.

"We got past the first wall", protested Karui, as she struggled to keep her head up, "If cat eyes here didn't attract the smell of the guard dogs, that bastard would have woken up completely hairless".

Yugito shot Karui a quick glare before turning back to Samui, "Though it's not like you would ever see the shit he does," she said in a irritated tone, "that jerk wouldn't harm a fly if Samui was there to watch him". Samui had been the apple of Naoki's affection since the 2nd year of the academy. She was one of the most levelheaded girls in the class, and also not one of his many fan girls. It seemed that Naoki liked a challenge.

Yugito was actually a bit jealous of Samui in that aspect. Sure, Samui had always turned down any date thrown at her, but at least she was getting asked. No one wanted to even come close to Yugito because of her Jinchuriki status, and those who did only wanted to be the first to claim the 'Demon Bitch'.

"**Aww, cheer up Kitten,"** said Nibi, the two-tailed beast, **"There must be a man out there who will look past what you are. And if not, having mind blowing sex with anyone you want is not a sad life style. I remember when I got with these four-"**. 'NIBI!' interrupted Yugito, as she tried to make the blush on her face recede. She looked at her friends and noticed that Samui seemed to be searching for someone. "Who are you looking for?" Yugito asked.

Samui stiffened, "No one", she curtly responded. "She is probably looking for Narut-OH!" Omoi had started to say but was cut off when Samui hit him over the head. This peeked Yugito's interests even further, "Who's Naruto?" Omoi rubbed the new lump on his head, "He is a kid we met while you two were trying to prank Naoki. He said he was joining the academy today".

Yugito and Karui looked over at Samui, who was glaring at Omoi. They both got a teasing grin on their faces. "Oh does Samui have a crush on the new kid?" Yugito said with a grin. "I think so, and I thought she just shot everyone else down because she played for the other team", added Karui with a giggle.

Samui looked away and pointed her nose high with a snort but a light blush was present, "I do not have a crush on Naruto-san". Omoi, who had popped another sucker into his mouth, had a puzzled expression on his face, "Then why did you blush when you saw Naruto without his mask?" This time Omoi had to dodge a couple of kunai that skimmed the top of his hair.

Yugito and Karui wore gob smacked expressions, "Are you serious?" Yugito finally asked, "Are we talking about the same person here or am I losing my hearing, cause I think you just said Samui blushed at a boy". Omoi nodded, "I was as surprised as you".

This got Yugito thinking, 'hey Nibi, why don't we-'. **"Get that mask off of the Naruto kid so we can see what your stoic friend saw? Absolutely kitten, I am so glad my devious side had rubbed off on you"**, said Nibi, who was giving her container a cat like grin.

Just as Yugito started to plan mission, 'unmask Samui's crush', Osamu sensei walked in to begin the lesson. About an hour into the lecture, Yugito had almost fallen asleep when the class heard a knock at the door. Osamu paused, and walked to open the door.

Standing there was Naruto wearing his mask, rubbing the back of his sheepishly, while holding a cup of tea, "I'm late, right?" he asked. Osamu was perplexed, "Yes, you must be the new student starting today. What were you doing that made you an entire hour late?" Naruto just raised up the cup of tea, "It's really good, I had to get a couple of cups".

A few of the class giggled and Osamu gave an annoyed sigh, "Alright, well lets hope that this does not become a daily occurrence. Go and introduce yourself to the class".

Naruto nodded then walked up to the center of the room, "Hey I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, training, and this tea" he took a sip, "How is this so good?" He asked himself. Lots of the students got a large teardrop on their foreheads. 'Is he really that stupid?' most of the class asked themselves. Only Samui and Omoi knew that he was masking his true strength, while Yugito made a note to find out where he got the tea.

"Very well Naruto, go sit next to Omoi", Naruto nodded and moved up the stairs and took his place by Omoi, who he greeted with a fist bump.

Yugito was currently observing the new student, **"Mmm, he looks good from here Kitten," **Said Nibi, **"nice bright, shining eyes, Samui likes him so you know he is strong." **Osamu-sensei had taken a seat at his desk, only to stand up later with the seat glued to his rear, making the class to laugh, **"And a prankster to boot! Oh I just know you are made for each other Kitten! Why don't you ditch class so you can take him to your room to ride his-"** 'NIBI!' screamed Yugito at her demon, using all of her will power to keep a blush down.

* * *

><p>After Osamu, with the help of some students, gotten the seat off of his pants, continued his lecture from where it had been interrupted, which both Naruto and Yugito slept through. The bell finally rang, signifying the break. As the class entered the school grounds, which was covered with dirt except for some trees near the corners of the buildings, Naruto went off to find Samui and Omoi.<p>

He finally found them along with a red head and another blonde, relaxing around an enclave of rocks. He walked up and smiled under his mask, as he waved to Samui.

Yugito was sitting on top of one of the rocks and Samui, Karui and Omoi were leaning against some of the smaller rocks. "Hello Naruto-san", Samui was the first to acknowledge his presence. He gave her an eye smile, "Hello Sami-chan, how have you been?" Yugito snickered at Samui's nickname while Samui was slightly glaring at Naruto.

"When did I give you permission to call me that? She less asked more demanded. Naruto just kept eye smiling at her, "One, you gave me the nickname 'Naruto-san' when I asked you to call me Naruto, so I am just giving you a nickname in return. Two, 'Sami-chan' is just so easy to say, and three, the face to make is adorable when I call you it".

Samui was about to throw one of the rocks at him when she heard the first two reasons, but when she heard the third, she went wide eyed and a small blush appeared on her face. She tried to come up with a retort, but her brain had shut down for a bit, so all she did was stand there. Yugito was watching the scene play out and decided to make her presence known. "Now that is impressive," she said as she hoped off the boulder, "Getting Samui to blush once is an accomplishment, twice is legendary".

Naruto tilted his head slightly in confusion, both Yugito and Samui had to hold in a scream of 'Kawaii', but Nibi didn't, **"KAWAII that is adorable! Grab him Kitten, before your friend notices he is gone".** Yugito ignored Nibi for the moment and put out her hand, "I'm Yugito, the red head is Karui," who nodded at Naruto, "and I am guessing you already know Omoi and 'Sami-chan'." She had purposely put Samui's new nickname in for her own enjoyment as the other blonde girl, now recovered, shot her a deathly glare.

Naruto smiled at her and grasped her hand in a shake, "Uzumaki Naruto, but just call me Naruto". Yugito smiled, "What's with the mask", she asked, "Got something you need to hide under there". Naruto's eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief, "I'll tell you what I told Omoi an Samui. It's for personal protection".

Yugito gave him the puppy, or in her case, kitty cat eyes. They seemed to glow with sadness, "But Samui and Omoi both got to see," she said in a cute voice.

Naruto was having trouble focusing on anything else but her eyes. 'She looks so sad' he thought, as his hand twitched towards his mask. **"Don't do it Kit!" **yelled Kyuubi, **"I am sure this is Nibi now! If you let her get to you, soon everything you hold near and dear will be hers for the taking. I made the same mistake that you are about to make, so please for love of Kami, RESIST!"**

Kyuubi's rant seemed to snap Naruto out of the trance and just shook his head, "I am sorry Yugito-san, but they used it as payment for telling me about the academy. I can not show you". **"Good Kit, good. Now just keep it up," **urged the Kyuubi. Yugito's eyes began to slightly water, causing Naruto's resolve to weaken, "Nonono don't cry…Yet, I can not show you yet" he quickly said, not wanting to make the girl cry, it was one of his weaknesses. **"Your fucking hopeless"** sighed the Kyuubi from his cage.

Yugito's expression changed instantly, from brink of tears, to wildly grinning, "Great, so when is 'yet'?" she asked. Thinking quickly, Naruto began to do what any great man would do when caught in a position like this, tell half the truth. "Well you see…if people knew my true identity, it could cause a lot of unwanted… problems. So I need to be sure only a select few know", he said. It was not like he was lying, if Konoha did find out he was alive, and in Kumo, they would with no doubt send an army to capture or kill him. **"Nice save Kit"** said Kyuubi. "Really?" **"No, I was being sarcastic".**

Even though Yugito was smiling on the outside, she was irked on the inside, 'Why didn't that work', she thought, 'I have used that move on Kirabi-sensei and A-Oji hundreds of times, and it has worked perfectly'. **"I don't know what happened Kitten,"** added Nibi, **"I have used my technique for much greater things than that, either he has heard of it before, which I find hard to believe, or what he says is true, that this is very important. But that only makes me want to know more!"**

After Yugito finished scheming with Nibi, she continued to act as if nothing was wrong, "Oh you are so easy," she got in close, "Having you around is going to be fun, and also you can Samui blush, which is a bonus". Naruto slowly nodded, still a bit confused about some of what Yugito had said, 'What does she mean, 'making Sami-chan blush'?' he thought. In his cage, Kyuubi banged his head against the bars, cursing Kami for giving him such an oblivious container.

"Anyway," said Samui who was still a bit pissed about the 'Sami-chan' comment, "What do you think of the class Naruto". "It's really nice Sami-chan," electing a smirk from Yugito and a scowl from Samui, "The students seem fine if you don't mess with them, the teacher is smart but gullible, meaning lots of fun pranks in the future, and he doesn't seem to care if I come in late".

He was about to continue, but a rock flew past his face, skimming the cloth of his mask. The group turned to see two figures, one boy and one girl, standing a few feet away. The boy had light toned skin, with messy brown hair, and dull brown eyes. He wore a miniature Kumo ANBU get up, with the only exception being that all of the armor had the faintest color of red. The girl was in Naruto's opinion, quite beautiful. She had captivating red eyes, black hair that reached down her back, and a small deceptive smile. Her outfit consisted of white shinobi style pants, a sleeveless crimson tank top, with one tan shawls moving across her waist, and on her left arm was a fishnet glove.

As soon as the two arrived, the mood instantly changed. Samui gave them a slight glare, Omoi had moved into a fighting stance, and Karui and Yugito were growling and looking like they were about to tear the kids to shreds. The two sides did not move or speak a word for two whole minutes, so Naruto decided to break the tension. "You know, it is appropriate to know the names of the people throwing rocks at you" he said with an eyes smile.

The girl gave a smirk, "Well how thoughtful, and here I thought that you had no class for hanging out around them. My name is Sango Yuriko, apprentice of the Neko Sennin, and my handsome friend here is Minoru Naoki, apprentice of the Ookami Sennin", who just gave a bored stare at the blonde boy.

Naruto gave a small wave, "Uzumaki Naruto, so what are you two doing?" "Probably Yuriko-Shofu been following Naoki-teme with hopes of pencil dick asking her out" yelled Yugito. Yuriko scowled but then quickly brought it back to a smirk, "Aww Neko no me, trying to keep your new friend? As soon as he finds out what you are, he will leave, like all the rest". Yugito flinched, but stood her ground.

Yuriko turned back to Naruto, "Do you know Naruto-kun, your little friend here is the Nibi no Nekomata, a giant, fire breathing cat who is bent on death and destruction. Why hang out with Neko no me and her low class friends, when you can be with normal people like us?"

Naruto turned to look at Yugito, who flinched under his gaze. Karui, Samui, and Omoi all waited for his answer, but he just kept observing Yugito. After two minutes, he looked back, "She doesn't look like a cat". Yugito breathed a sigh of relief, and Nibi smiled, **"See Kitten, I told you there were people out there who could see the truth. And another good thing is that he is not bad looking either".** Samui, Omoi, and Karui, seeing that Naruto was not a threat to their friend, moved their gaze back to Yuriko and Naoki, who looked surprised to say the least.

"The only thing that looks Cat like one Yugito are her eyes, and they look pretty cute", Naruto continued, causing Yugito to blush. "And above all," he said as he narrowed his eyes, "If you say she is the Nibi, you must not be very smart. When we seal a kunai into a scroll, does the scroll become a kunai? No it does not, meaning that Yugito is the container rather than the beast".

Yuriko who had recovered, was glaring at the blonde, "Fine, all we do is try to help you and set you on the right path, but if you want to ignore our advice than go right ahead. Come one Naoki-kun". She started to walk away but noticed that Naoki wasn't following her. He just moved his gaze to Samui, "You haven't accepted my invitation for a date Samui-san," he said in a bland voice, betraying no emotion.

Samui just replied with an equally bland tone, "I am sorry, Naoki-san, but I must decline your request". "Why?" he asked, raising his eyebrow, "My clan in one of the only clans our village processes, many would be honored to find a way into our clan, and when I am here offering you a way in, you decline".

"I said no Naoki," she said again, even though this one was a bit louder. Naoki half scowled, half glared, "Again why? You do know of my clan's control, and being a clan heir, I could protect you and your friends from any…problems".

Naruto, deciding that he had enough, said in a light tone, "You know flowers and chocolate work a lot better than threats". Naoki turned to glare at Naruto, and for a moment his own killer intent laced it, "I do not believe I asked for your opinion Naruto-san", he said blandly. Naruto shrugged, "And I believe I heard Sami-chan say no, so I guess both of us are in the wrong".

Naoki's eyes widened a bit at the 'Sami-chan' comment, but then quickly regained his composure. "I see. Well I must be off, but I will enjoy sparing with you in the future Naruto-san" he said, and began to walk away, in the other direction as Yuriko, who ran to catch up with her 'true love'.

After the duo had left, Karui started to laugh, "Did you see that bastards face! I swear I have never seen him show that much emotion in my life!" Omoi, popped another sucker in his mouth, "Why did he leave so quickly? Maybe he is going because it hurts is face to change expressions so much? Or maybe he is out plotting his revenge? Or maybe-" he did not get to finish because Karui had brought her fist down on his head. "Shut up Omoi baka, just be happy we won this one".

Naruto smiled at his new friends, 'perhaps this won't be such a boring year' he thought to himself. He was brought back to reality by Yugito shaking his shoulder. "Thanks," she said as she watched Omoi and Karui fight, while Samui just shook her head, "for standing up for us, most people as soon as they hear of one of the biju would have just walked away. But you didn't, I like that".

Naruto gave an eye smile to Yugito, "Think nothing of it, besides they are not out of the woods yet". Yugito gave him a curious look, "What do you mean?" she asked. Naruto's eyes sparkled with mischief as he scribbled an address on a stray piece of paper before giving it to her, "Well that could mean a lot of things, but I will need your help, just meet me at this place at 8 pm. If I am going to get those two, I will need your help to do it".

Naruto turned and started to walk away, "Later Yugi-chan". Yugito smiled with a light blush tinting her cheeks, "Later Naruto…kun" she said. Inside her seal Nibi was watching the boy walk away, **"Mmm an nice ass, I have an idea, how about you follow him, and when he gets near one of the closets, push him and yourself in so you can suck on his-"** 'NIBI!'

* * *

><p>It was an hour after school and Naruto was standing in front of two large, dark toned muscular men, and Rakki in the Raikage's office. The man at the desk had white-combed back hair and wore the Raikage hat on his head. He wore a golden belt and had a stern gaze. The other man also had white hair and a goatee. He had on a white forehead protector with the Kumo symbol, along with a pair of black shades. He had on a Jonin flak jacket and a red rope around his waist, with seven swords strapped to his back.<p>

"So you must be the boy from Konoha, Naruto was it," the man at the desk started, "My name is A, but you can just call me Raikage-sama, either one will do. I don't care, never been one for formalities". Naruto gave a small smile under his mask, he liked this guy already.

A then pointed to the man on his left, "This is Kirabi, the Jinchuriki of Hachibi, and from now on, your sensei in controlling the Kyuubi's chakra". Kirabi gave Naruto a grin and held out his fist, "How you doin little nine, we goanna make it so you can use the nine tails just fine, yeah".

Both Rakki and Kirabi got large sweat drops on their heads and Naruto gave a nervous chuckle. **"Kit if you ever start doing that, I don't care if I die, I will kill you".** Regaining his composure Naruto responded to his fist bump, "Sounds fine Kirabi-sensei, when do we start?"

"Meet me at ten at the hills, but you better be ready to pay the bills", he then disappeared in a puff of smoke. There was silence for a bit, before Naruto yelled, "Does anyone know what he just said?" Rakki just shrugged, "Don't look at me, I haven't heard that man rap for years, I am out of practice". Both looked at A who sighed, "He wants you to meet him at ten tomorrow on the outskirts of the city".

Rakki and Naruto nodded in understandment as a continued, "Also it is very important that your status as a Jinchuriki stays hidden Naruto, that is why I am placing it as an S-ranked military secret. Not even the council or any of the other Sennin will know besides, Rakki, Kirabi, and myself".

"That's right Kit, and I know you are know you are just dying to tell everyone how you are the apprentice of such a handsome, stunning, and thoughtful man such as me, but you must resist" said Rakki, putting his arm around Naruto's shoulder. Naruto pushed the arm off; "I don't really think I want the women of Kumo relating me to you Ero-Masuta".

Rakki face faulted and A pounded his desk in laughter, "HAHAHA now that is a name that fits my student!" Rakki looked glumly at the floor before a brilliant idea popped into his head. He gave a devilish fox grin at A, who had stopped laughing when he saw it. That grin always ment trouble.

"Well I did learn it all from you now sensei," he began, getting his students attention, "remember Makoto-sensei? Or Rika-san? Them and the hundreds more you peeked on. I am surprised I am not any worse". A was confused, what could Rakki have to gain by saying all this.

His questions were answered when Naruto was walking out the door, "Alright you guys take care of that, later Ero-Masuta, later Ero-Densetsu". A threw a chair at Naruto, but he was already out the door.

Rakki was now the one laughing, "Sucks for you sensei, as soon as he gives you a name, you're labeled for life". A swung a punch at Rakki who used a **Kawairimi** with a chair, which was destroyed.

After A calmed down, he asked Rakki, "So before our little distraction, I was going to remind Naruto-san to stay out of trouble, do you think that will happen?" Rakki stopped laughing, thought for a moment before responding in a blank voice, "Enjoy how small the paperwork is with Yugito," before his **Shunshined** away.

A sighed, 'this year is going to be very troublesome' he thought, 'but with the benefits, I would be a fool not to take it'.

* * *

><p>Early in the morning screams could be heard throughout Kumogakure. The entire Minoru compound was painted a mix of bright Orange and Purple. Nothing was spared, the walls, the roofs, even the furniture, everything inside and outside the compound was either orange or purple.<p>

This was not as bad compared to the situations of Yuriko and Naoki. Both were tied to a pole in the center of the village plaza. On Naoki, the word 'teme' was written on every visible part of his body, with the same being for Yuriko, except it was 'Shofu' with a two every once and awhile.

On a small cliff, over watching the entire spectacle, were Yugito and Naruto, sitting on a small bench. Yugito had a pack of sushi and Naruto a bowl of Ramen, which they were eating with large grins.

"I have to say," Yugito said as she popped a sushi roll into her mouth, "when you first told me of your idea, I was considering taking you to the ward". Naruto shot her a masked grin, "Yes, but if you hadn't come along, you wouldn't have been able to see this masterpiece", he said as he spread his arms to the mass destruction that they had caused.

"How did you get past the dogs?" asked Yugito, "Most of the time if they even smell me they go ballistic". Naruto just reached into his pouch and pulled out a small bone that he tossed to Yugito, "Take a sniff", he said as he got back to eating his ramen.

Yugito smelled the bone before confusion spread across her face, "Bacon?" she asked incredulously. Naruto just waved it off as he finished his ramen. When he was done he nodded, "Never like to hurt animals, so I just reward them with something so I can just get on with whatever I'm doing".

Yugito nodded and made a mental note to get some of the bones for the future. "So why did you need me," she asked, "I'm pretty sure you could of done this on your own, so why did you want my help?" Naruto stopped and looked at Yugito. "One," he held up a finger, "I knew you wanted to get back at them as well. Two, more hands equal next work. And three…I didn't really know where they lived" he finished with a smaller voice.

Yugito gave a slight glare at the boy, "So I was just free labor for you, is that it?" she asked, intensifying her glare, making Naruto sweat a bit. "Nonono," he said in mock surrender, "those were just some of the reasons I needed you here, but I brought you along because I like your company".

Yugito's glare ceased that instant and she started to lightly blush. **"Oh look Kitten, he likes your company, why don't you him to your room to make him appreciate it even more"** tempted Nibi. But Yugito did not want to ruin this moment so she cut of her connection with her biju.

"Thanks," she said, with a little blush present. Naruto, let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he was in the clear, before he gave a chuckle, "No probl-" "YUGITO! NARUTO!" the duo turned to see a fuming Raikage staring straight at them.

"I think this is a good time to run," said Yugito, to which Naruto quickly nodded. They then jumped down the cliff and ran with the Raikage close behind.

* * *

><p>Shofu:whore<p>

Teme: bastard

Neko no me: Cat eyes

**Kawairimi:** Body Replacement

Ero-Densetsu: Pervy Legend

* * *

><p><strong>Alright here are the Poll announcements:<strong>

**Fu: 16 votes**

**Mei: 13 votes**

**Temari: 10 votes**

**Konan: 8 votes**

**Kurenai: 7 votes**

**Anko: 6 votes**

**Kurtosuchi: 5 votes**

**Koyuki: 3 votes**

**Yugao: 2 votes**

**So it seems that Fu is first, followed by Mei, Temari, Konan, Kurenai, and Anko. But i have made the decision to only have six girls in the harem (Yugito, Samui, OC, and _ _ and _) so I am setting up a new poll with only the top six girls so I can narrow it down to three.**

**I will also make it so you can vote three times so you can pick your top 3.**

**Have Fun and please Review**


	6. Team 33 Activation

**Hey, Do you know that feeling when you are on a roll and don't want to stop. Yeah that has happened to me. I was woken up at 6 in the morning with an idea, and just wrote. 4 hours later, I had a chapter. So just to let you know, this is probably not going to be a normal thing. I wrote a lot because I had time, and will write when i can. But until then, Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc. speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

The morning was peaceful in Kumo. The sun was rising majestically from the far off mountains, the citizens were just opening their shops and Naruto was sleeping peacefully in his bed, without a care in the-"WAKE UP!"

Naruto was flipped out of his mattress and flung at the wall. Senses wide-awake, he frantically searched the room for his attacker, only to come across Yugito with a displeased look on her face. "Damn, you wore your mask to sleep," she said as she placed her hands on her hips and looked at the ground, "And when you hit the wall, it didn't fall off". She then shrugged it off and replaced her previous expression with a happier one. "Well there is always tomorrow! I'll be making me some breakfast" she finished with glee, and walked out.

As soon as she left, Naruto let out a heavy sigh. Ever since she learned that they were basically neighbors, and that they both lived alone, she would every so often break into his apartment and surprise him, whether it was with a new prank idea, or another attempt to see what he looked like under his mask.

Naruto stumbled to the shower and let the warm water wash away the memory of his previous wake-up call. He had been in Kumo for about a year, and had accomplished a total of two things. The first was in his training with Kirabi, when he had managed to master up to his two-tailed state, before he went berserk. 'That had ruined a great deal of training grounds, Naruto thought to himself as he recounted the angry face of the Raikage after the 6th field had been destroyed.

The second thing that he had done while here was create some strong bonds with his friends and classmates. 'Excluding two, of course', he added in as he thought of Naoki and Yuriko, who had never really forgiven him for writing 'teme' and 'Shofu' all over them. But he wasn't complaining, that was one of the funniest things he had done in a while.

Naruto was on a lot better terms with the rest of the class though; they enjoyed at his pranks, but knew that he was reliable when they needed it, especially when he had gotten a hold of the answer key for the semester test. Some of the girls had even started a club to see what he looked like under his mask, to which Yugito said, "There is no way in hell they are seeing it before me".

But the people Naruto mainly hung out with were Yugito, Samui, Omoi, Karui, and Aya. He and Omoi would normally spar with each other. But for some reason, during some of their spars Naruto felt like he was being watched. It felt creepy. With Aya he had officially gotten banned from the kitchen, because of an incident when he had tried to combine all of the different ramen flavors into one magnificent bowl. To make a long story short…it exploded. Guess that means that man was not meant to have something that delicious. He and Kyuubi were in a small depression for about a week.

Karui and Samui would normally relax with Naruto when they could. Karui's family owned a clothing store, so she worked there half time, and since Samui needed the cash, she helped out when she could. But when they were off work, they would spend most of their time at the training grounds or someone's house, generally Naruto's because no one else could interrupt.

Naruto and Yugito were the new pranksters of the village. People even called them, 'Orenji to Murasaki no Kyofu' for how both orange and purple seem to play a big part in their conjoined pranks. Naruto probably hung out with Yugito more than the rest, partly because she lived so close, and also how much they could relate. Yugito had confided in Naruto that when she was little she did have a mother, but she was always sick, and died when she was about 5. She was then moved to Kumo and taken under the care of Kirabi and A.

After Yugito was finished, Naruto decided to tell her a modified version of his life. He told her of how he was an orphan from birth, and that the villagers did not like him very much. He left out most of the worst beatings and then told her how a man helped him escape, taught him some ninjustu, then came to Kumo. When he was done, Yugito had tears of understanding in her eyes and hugged Naruto for close to half an hour.

After Naruto was done with his shower, he got dressed and entered the kitchen to see Yugito eating a pack of sushi. Naruto nodded to her and moved to grab 5 cups of instant ramen. "Yugito sighed at her fellow blonde, "You know it is not healthy to just eat ramen morning, noon, and night. You need a more balanced diet", she said as she popped a sushi roll into her mouth.

Naruto looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "This is a balanced diet," he said as he showed her one of the cups, "This one has vegetables in it". Yugito knocked the cup away from her, "That's not good enough"; she said as she took another bite of her sushi, "You need to eat more variety". Naruto just rolled his eyes, " This from the girl who can eat over 4 pounds of sushi in a day", he added in a sarcastically.

Yugito pouted, "Fish is good for you," she said, making Naruto laugh. "Not if it is the only thing you eat", he laughed. Yugito just stuck her tongue out at him and went back to her meal.

Both ate in a pleasant silence for a bit, until Yugito asked, "Who do you think is going to be on your team?" Naruto stopped eating and adopted a quizzical expression, "I don't really know", he said as he looked at his ramen, "I was in the middle of the class, so I could be paired up with anyone, perhaps. Omoi and Karui's families have been paired together before, so they will be on the same team, but as for you, Samui, and me, I am stumped".

Yugito looked down a bit, "What if they see me as the 'demon bitch'?" she asked in a small voice. Naruto grabbed Yugito's chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "Then I will find them, shave off all of the hair on their bodies, and hang them upside-down, from the Raikage's tower", he said with a comforting voice.

Yugito giggled at the threat, and smiled back, "Thanks, Naruto," she said as she got up from the table. "Come on let's go and find out our teams," she said, then turned around with a smirk, "I want to see your face when you get paired with one of your fan girls". She ran out of the room with Naruto in a panicked state, "THAT IS NOT FUNNY!" he yelled after her, only praying that she was wrong, and no fan girls would be placed on his team.

* * *

><p>They both arrived a few minutes before class was going to start, and grabbed some seats near Samui, Karui, and Omoi. "Did it work?" Karui asked Yugito, who shook her head in defeat. Karui kicked her desk, "Damn it! We have to try something else. Have you tried getting it off while he is sleeping," She asked. Yugito went into a thinking pose, "No I don't think that would work, we have to do it when he is awake and he is not suspecting anything", she said.<p>

Naruto's sweat dropped from the conversation, "Don't you think it might be a good idea to not plot right in front of me", he offered. Both girls looked at him, then each other, and nodded, planning on picking up the conversation later.

Yugito then turned to Samui, "Come on, Samui-chan! You have seen his face! Just tell us a small detail, hell, even a vague one, Please!" she begged. Samui just looked away, "No, I promised Naruto I would not tell" she said sternly. Yugito pouted, "Fine just take your boyfriend's side", she said. Samui gave her a light bop on the head, but if you looked closely, you could see a faint blush.

Just then Osamu walked into the class. "Alright sit down and shut up", he yelled to silence the class. When he thought he had everyone's attention, he began his speech, "Today you start your lives as part of the Shinobi force of Kumo. You will be separated into teams depending on your specialties, and then those teams will be given a primary goal, such as information gathering, tracking, capture, assault and so on. Though you will be focusing on honing your skills in whatever job type you have been selected for, you will be expected to have proficient fighting skills for when you need them. The higher-up jobs are mostly assassinations, so you better get used to killing".

Osamu then picked up a clipboard from his desk, "Team 12, that focuses on information gathering is made up of Akihiko Fumio, Masuyo Yumi, and Susumu Ken. You will meet your sensei at training ground 4".

Naruto tuned out for most of the teams, waiting for his name to be called. Samui, Omoi, and Karui were put on an assault team, and Naoki and Yuriko were put on their own two-man team, because of their political status. Yuriko did not stop squealing with joy.

Naruto had almost fallen asleep when he heard his name, "Team 33, which focuses on assassination, will be made up of Sho Isamu, Nii Yugito, and Uzumaki Naruto. You will meet your sensei at training ground 16".

Naruto shot Yugito thumbs up, to which she replied with a grin. He then looked over at his other teammate, Isamu Sho. He wore a black sweatshirt with gray ninja pants, and his Hitai-ate sewn onto his right shoulder. His black hair and pale skin made him blend into the crowd of students. Isamu had a bored expression on his face, but his hazel eyes darted around the room, analyzing everything. The kid had done average in everything, but Naruto knew he was faking it. The Sho family made up a large percentage of the village's assassins. Isamu was kind, levelheaded, and very smart. He had proved that when he had come up with a fail safe way to steal the test answers last semester. Yes, he would be a good person to have on the team.

After Osamu released the class, Naruto, Yugito, and Isamu began walking to training ground 16. They walked in a pleasant silence as Naruto continued to look over his team. Yugito had begun to grow a figure, but it was only slight, and had placed her Kumo Hitai-ate around her waist like a belt. Due to Rakki's instructions, Naruto had hidden all of his strongest techniques; he walked around with his swords hidden in a storage seal on his palms. Without them he kind of felt naked. He had adorned his Hitai-ate loosely around his neck.

When the group arrived they noticed a tall, dark-toned man waiting for them. He had white hair that covered his left eye, and wore the standard Kumo jonin attire, with a high collar. He carried a small broad sword on his back and had the kanji for 'water' and 'lightning' tattooed on each arm.

"Ah, you are here, that's good. Things were beginning to get dull". He motioned them over to where he was and told them to sit down. "Alright, I guess I will begin," he said as he looked over his students, "My name is Darui. My likes are relaxing, pocky, and nothing breaking. My dislikes are people who are arrogant. And my dream for the future is to serve the Raikage".

He then motioned to Sho, who looked at the ground then back up to the group. "My name is Sho Isamu," he said blandly, "My likes are training and family, I don't really dislike anything except for those who try to harm my family. And my dream for the future is to be a respected clan head". Darui nodded, the pointed at Yugito, "Ok, now you're up, Purple", he said lazily.

Yugito gave a grin, "My name is Nii Yugito, my likes are sushi, friends, pranks, and training, my dislikes are arrogant bastards who act like they are better then everyone else, and that sushi goes bad if you leave it out for a while. My dream is to be a powerful protector of Kumo", she said. Darui gave a small smile, and then moved over to Naruto, "Alright, and blonde Number Two", he said.

Naruto shrugged, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, my likes are ramen, my precious people, training, and pranks. My dislikes are people who treat others badly for something out of their control, and the three minutes it takes to make ramen. My dream is to protect Kumo and my precious people", he finished with an eye smile. Darui gave another smile at Naruto.

But then Isamu interrupted with something, "I am afraid you are forgetting something, Naruto-san," he said lazily. Naruto rose an eyebrow at him, "And that is?" he asked. Isamu sighed, "You haven't shown anyone your face, if we were on a mission and someone was impersonating you, it could be a failsafe to ensure it was really you, " he explained. "Oh…" Naruto said as he paled a bit, "So that means I have to show you all right now?" Isamu and Darui nodded, "It does sound like the best option. And also everyone on the team knowing what you look like under your mask would ensure team bonding", Darui added.

Yugito was now bouncing with joy and anticipation. 'This is it, Nibi! All of our hard work will finally pay off!' she thought to her charge. **"I know Kitten, I can hardy wait! And of all the days not to bring a camera!"** said Nibi, who was looking at Naruto intently.

"So what are you waiting for? Take off that mask and show the world!" yelled Yugito, getting in closer to have a better view. Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit, "You are enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked, to which Yugito grinned and nodded.

Seeing that he was not getting out of this, he sighed, "Alright, fine" he said and begun to remove his mask.

When he took it off, Darui shrugged, "Whisker marks, who knew" he said. Isamu looked confused, "Why would you want to hide your face? I see nothing wrong with I-", he stopped when he saw Yugito looking slack jawed at Naruto. There was a three second pause before she disappeared and reappeared right next to Naruto, glomping the life out of him, "KAWAII! These are adorable! Why didn't you let me see them earlier?" Inside her, Nibi was doing no better. **"I knew we had hit the jackpot with this kid! Understanding, kind, and now we can add on hot! When you are done choking him, drag him back to your room and tie him up. So we can see his whiskers every day!"** she yelled from her cage.

When Darui finally managed to pry Yugito away from Naruto, Isamu spoke up, "I now understand why you wore a mask". Naruto just nodded at him, trying to regain his breath.

After Naruto had replaced his mask, Darui continued, "Alright, continuing on from where we got off track, Training ground 16 will be where we will do missions from 9 to 12, then training exercises until 6". Team 33 nodded, "Alright". Darui added, "Now I want all of you to go home and rest up for tomor-", he was interrupted by a puff of smoke. As the smoke cleared, it revealed Rakki, the Kitsune Sennin.

"Kit!" he yelled, before running up and grabbing Naruto, "I just heard that the bastard Takashi and Chiasa used their political influence to get their two brats on a two man squad. Do. You. Know. What. That. Means!" emphasizing each word with a shake.

Meanwhile, Yugito was slack-jawed, and Isamu and Darui were wide eyed. "R-Rakki-sama, what are you doing here?" asked Darui who was still confused about why one of the legendary Sennin of Kumo was shaking his student. Rakki turned his head to Darui, "Oh, I didn't know you would still be here" he said voicing his surprise. He then turned to Yugito, "You're the kid who humiliated Takashi-teme's and Chiasa's apprentice right?" he asked. Yugito shyly nodded her head. Rakki stared at Yugito for a moment, before he nodded, "Nice job", he said, before turning back to Naruto.

"Well now, Kit, looks like you blew my cover", said Rakki who shook his head, "I am so disappointed". Regaining his balance, Naruto glared at Rakki, "What do you mean I blew it! You were the one who randomly appeared here, and started yelling about it Ero-Masuta!"

Rakki glared at his student, "I told you to stop calling me that, and I think we are forgetting who is at fault here", he continued. "Yeah, you!" yelled Naruto.

Yugito, Isamu, and Darui were completely confused with what had happened in the last couple of minutes. Rakki, one of the Sennin, had arrived and started yelling at Naruto, who was yelling back with equal vigor, even going so far as to call him 'Ero-Masuta'.

"Alright, can someone please explain what is going on", Yugito asked as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Rakki turned to her, "Well that could easily be explained…by Naruto", he said as he pushed his apprentice forward. "Well you see…uh…remember when you said that only the Ookami and Neko Sennin had apprentices? You were kind of…wrong", Naruto stuttered as he rubbed the back of his neck, eyes franticly darted around the training ground, looking for a place to hide if need be.

Yugito's eyes widened with realization, "You are the Kitsune Sennin's apprentice", she said quietly. Naruto nodded, "Since I was six", he added.

There was silence for a few moments before Yugito punched Naruto square in the face. He was knocked to the ground, and looked up in fear of seeing Yugito in rage. "You knew all this time and DIDN'T TELL ME!" she yelled as tried to smash his face again.

Naruto rolled out of the way and started to back away, "Now Yugi-chan, listen" he said as he raised his hands in surrender. "I don't want to listen!" she yelled, and took out a couple of kunai and aimed them at his neck. Naruto ducked and hid behind a training post, "Please have mercy", he said meekly. Yugito smiled darkly, "Sorry, all out", and proceeded to chase Naruto around the grounds with a variety of sharp and heavy objects.

From the sidelines, Isamu was shaking his head at his teammates, "Well at least there will never be a dull moment", he said, as he watched Yugito using Naruto as a punching bag. Rakki looked at the boy curiously, "You don't seem that surprised", he said. Isamu just shrugged, "I always knew Naruto was a bit…different. If you told me now that he was the Raikage's long lost son, I could see it", he said as he took a seat on the dirt.

Darui then looked at Rakki, "Since he is an apprentice," he said with his eyebrow raised, "What can he do?" Rakki just smirked at him, "Now where would be the fun in that? I'll give you some hints but the rest you will have to find out. He can summon, is skilled at a complex shinobi art, and has something similar to your Kuroi Kaminara, but the rest you will have to get from him."Darui's visible eye rose a bit on the last hint, but he kept his mouth shut.

Rakki then turned to the scuttle happening between Naruto and Yugito, "Hey Kit, when you are done playing with your girlfriend, tell them the complications of knowing this secret", he yelled, only to have to dodge a swarm of shuriken. "Oh, she has a temper, this is going to be fun for you, Darui", he said with a grin, before using the **Shunshin,** and disappearing.

After Yugito was through with Naruto, he explained why he and Rakki had kept his apprenticeship a secret, going into how he had traveled with Rakki since he was six, and had not stayed in a place for more than a month.

When he was finished, Isamu was the first to accept it, later by a reluctant Yugito, who said that Naruto would owe her a lot of sushi in the future. Darui watched the scene in pride, seeing how early on his team was building bonds with each other.

"I think that this not going to be as dull as I thought", said Darui quietly to himself. But with a two-tailed Jinchuriki, a ramen loving Sennin in training, and a trained assassin, when would it be peaceful in the village again. He then told the group to meet him here at 9 o' clock the next morning to start missions.

* * *

><p>When Naruto got home that night, he was beat. Most of the wounds Yugito had inflicted were healed, but were still sore. He winced as he fell into his bed. <strong>"Kit, that was the most entertaining thing I have seen in a long time",<strong> said Kyuubi from his cage, **"Seeing you get your ass whooped by that cat's container was funny as shit!"**

'And why are you laughing?' Naruto thought back, 'Last time I checked, you felt what I felt, so why aren't you hurting'. The fox snorted from his cage, **"Kit, you getting hurt is minuscule to what I think pain is, so it doesn't bother me. You getting punched in the stomach by a female's rage feels like a bug bite to me",** explained the Kyuubi.

Naruto was about to make a comeback, but froze when he sensed a presence at the door. He looked over and saw Yugito standing there with a scowl on her face. "You didn't tell me everything", she said, as she walked closer, "Rakki wouldn't have just picked anyone to teach, there had to be some reason he picked you".

Yugito was now standing right in front of him, glaring directly into his eyes, "It could be family, but Rakki never saw that as extremely important, so that is out," she continued to list off, "If you had a bloodline that would make sense, but that would also mean a lot of political trouble getting you here. So tell me. Why?"

Naruto looked away from her, "You don't want to know that," he said quietly, "Trust me, this is something that you do not want to hear". "Bull Shit", Yugito said, her voice getting a bit louder, "We are on a team baka! If I don't know something that could be a threat, you are not only putting me at risk, but Samui, Omoi, Karui, Rakki, and the entire village. So I will ask again…why?"

Naruto looked down at the ground, the bangs of his hair creating a shadow over his eyes. There was silence for a minute before he spoke, "You don't know how lucky you have it", he said curtly. Yugito raised an eyebrow, "What is that supposed to mean", she asked. Naruto said again, only louder, "I said you don't know how lucky you have it. I have seen the way people look at you, some glare, some scowl, but that is it. You do not know how bad it is for people like us outside of Kumo".

"People like us? What is that supposed to m-", Yugito stopped right there as shock and realization formed on her face, "You're a Jinchuriki…" she said, barely above a whisper. Naruto nodded, and when he looked up, Yugito took a step back in shock. His normal bright, sapphire, blue eyes, which she thought was one of his best qualities, were dull, and expressed powerful feelings of fear, anger, loneliness, and above all, pain.

"I was born on October 10th, in the village of Konohagakure", he started, gathering Yugito's attention, "On that night, the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked our village, killing hundreds of people, shinobi and civilian alike. Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, the Yondaime Hokage used his last resort, the Shiki Fuin, to use the Shinigami to seal half of the beast within himself, and the other half inside a new born baby".

Yugito was paying rapt attention now, silently dreading the words to come. "The reason the Shiki Fuin is considered a last resort, is because it takes the soul of the wielder as payment", continued Naruto, not a speck of emotion in his voice, "The Yondaime's last wish was for me to be treated as a hero, but I guess he gave the villagers too much credit."

Tears were beginning to fall down Naruto's face as he recounted his life, "The council demanded my death immediately after they were informed, but thanks to the help of Sandaime, I survived. But that did not mean that the council and the villagers wouldn't make my life a living hell. They placed me in an orphanage, where I was forced to sleep in the cold and wet basement, and was only fed once a week, and even then they were table scraps that I had to eat in a corner. When I got old enough to talk, I asked why and they would reply, "Demons don't deserve to eat people food", and would slap me in the face".

Yugito listened in horror as Naruto told her his past. "The children were encouraged to pick on me, and beat me up, and if I tried to defend myself, I would be punished severely" Naruto said, as he subconsciously squeezed his pants, "When I turned four, the orphanage kicked me out onto the streets, where I had to dig through the garbage for a meal, and if I was lucky, a small ramen shop would give me a bowl on the house. However, during those times, the mobs started. They would hunt me down, and beat me to an inch of death, before the ANBU would come to disperse the crowd, and then leave as quickly as they had come. I was left to heal myself most of the time. Sometimes an Inu faced ANBU would take me to the hospital, but it was always a 50-50 chance if I would get treated or not. That was the case, when on my birthday; I was beaten so badly that I was in a coma for about two days. When I awoke to find the Sandaime watching me, I told him about my life on the streets, and he was furious. He then gave me my own apartment, which I lived in for barely a year".

Yugito was both disgusted and horrified with what these monsters had done to a child, and deeply wanted to make them pay. "On my 6th birthday, I was hiding out in my apartment. I had learned early on that on my birthday, the beatings were the worst.," said Naruto, who was looking at the floor again, slightly shivering. "It was then when a mob broke into my house, chased me into a dark ally, and proceeded to give me the worst beating of my life". Naruto looked to stare right at Yugito, "I was stabbed, cut, my ribs were broken, and to top it all off, some ninja in the group used some Katon jutsus on me, giving me 2nd degree burns all over my body. I was then moved out of the village, and crucified to a stake in the middle of the forest, left to die".

Finally a small smile graced Naruto's lips, "That was when I met Rakki. He had been travelling through the outskirts of Konoha, and had smelled my blood. He took me away from the village and offered to teach me. I accepted, because he told me the reason I was hated, and I was unsure if I wanted to protect _those_ people", he finished and then gave a dry chuckle, "I am sorry, I am sure you didn't want to know that".

In an instant Yugito was pulling him into a hug, and was sobbing her eyes out. Naruto was confused, but slowly relaxed into it. They stayed like that for a while, Naruto didn't know, he just stayed there, silent, waiting for Yugito to finish. When she did look up, her eyes were puffy red, "How can you still smile, with everything that has happened to you?" she asked. She had never seen Naruto with less than a smile on his face, and had never seen him cry.

Naruto gave her a smile, "I never gave up", he said simply, "I would never let their words get to me, and if they did, I always had a friend nearby to knock me on the head to get my senses back together".

He then looked up at the ceiling, "To tell you the truth, I have never told anyone this in that detail. I always kept the worst parts to myself, so no one would have to pity me. But with you…it was different".

Yugito gave a dry laugh and whipped the tears from her eyes, "That's because we are friends baka, and them hurting you is just like them hurting me", she said as she put her hand in front of him, "If you ever see one of those bastards again, I will be there to help you kick their asses back to hell, what do you say?"

Naruto gave her a foxy grin, "Great Yugi-chan, great", he said as he grabbed the offered hand. Yugito grinned back, and walked to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow for missions", she said with a wave. "Yugito", Naruto said, making her turn back to see a serious expression on his face, "This is considered an SS ranked secret, so you cannot tell anybody about it. Understand?"

Yugito nodded, and exited the apartment. A smile played on Naruto's lips, "Thanks for understanding, Yugi-chan", he said to himself, before he let exhausted but blissful sleep claim him.

* * *

><p>Yugito had just entered her apartment when she heard a feminine yawn coming from her head. Her apartment was very similar to Naruto's, except it had more pictures around the place, was a bit dirtier, and the smell of fish was ever present. 'You were sleeping the whole time' she asked the cat demon, which was doing some stretches. <strong>"Of course, Kitten",<strong> said Nibi, **"You went to hurt the blonde, and I had already seen that this morning. So there was no real need for me to watch".**

Yugito sighed, 'Well I didn't kick his ass, he had a perfectly good reason for not telling anybody', she thought as she prepared for bed. **"Oh and what might that be",** Nibi said, getting interested.

'He's a Jinchuriki like me', said Yugito as she walked out of the bathroom. **"Oh, well that makes sense, he did always heal from injuries fast, and he has that ungodly stamina, but who does he contain? Ichibi… he is a little coward who won't let anyone near his container. Me… that's obvious. The Sanbi… doesn't really do well with heights. Yonbi… maybe. Gobi… so polite that you would rip your own ears off so no. Rokubi…ew. Nanabi...Such a bitch, I would like to claw her eyes out. Were any of these on target?"**

Yugito shook her head, 'Nope, all wrong. He contains the Kyuubi no Yoko', she said, but was not expecting the reaction from her container. **"KYU-KUN is here!"** she yelled, causing Yugito to jump, **"What are you waiting for, Kitten, go and claim him right now! I have waited far too long to be denied him when he is so close".**

Yugito sighed, 'Good night, Nibi' she thought and laid in her bed. **"What are you doing, Kitten? You should not be sleeping, that should be exactly the opposite of what you should be doing tonight! Go back into his room, and claim him. Get down on your knees and suck his-",** Yugito shut her connection to Nibi, and enjoyed the blisses of sleep, while Nibi ranted about the stuff she should be doing to Naruto.

* * *

><p><span>Orenji to Murasaki no Kyofu<span>: The Orange and Purple Terrors

Kuroi Kaminara: Black Lightning

* * *

><p><strong>Hey so here on the current poll Results:<strong>

**Mei: 50 votes (1st)**

**Konan: 40 votes (2nd)**

**Anko: 36 votes (3rd)**

**Fu: 31 votes**

**Temari: 29 votes**

**Kurenai: 26 votes**

**So here it is so far, I am pretty happy with these because Anko and Mei are very flirtatious characters, and it will be fun to write as them. The poll will end on 12/2/11, so get your votes in by then. **


	7. Off to Wave

**Hey, Actually got it in by the dead line. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc. speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

Darui sighed as he looked down at their targets, happily drinking in the bandit main camp, unaware that this would be their last night among the living. Though Darui looked calm, inside he was a bit worried. This was team 33's first C ranked mission, and it would also be the first time for most of them to experience the feeling of taking another man's life.

Darui had wanted to keep them on D ranks for a while, sure every shinobi knew of the horrors of D ranks, the meaningless tasks such as weeding, babysitting, and finding lost pets, but their main purpose was to ease new genin into a lifestyle of constant missions.

But knowing this, Darui also knew his team was far from normal. Due to the incident last month with the discovery of Naruto's apprenticeship, he had gone to the Raikage to find out any other information he should know about his new genin. The Raikage had seen fit to tell him about Naruto's Jinchuriki status and his relationship with Konoha. Darui wanted to ask the specifics of the relationship, but from the grim look the Raikage had had on during the meeting, he could tell that it was best not to pry.

After the awkward team introduction the day before, his three students had seemed changed. Naruto had taken to removing his mask during training, saying that if they were a team, he would let them know that he trusts them. Yugito was also a lot calmer, focusing on mastering the few Katon techniques that she knew, but her gaze also seemed to be drawn towards Naruto when he wasn't looking. Isamu, who from the report at the academy was very reserved and rarely spoke, tried to be more open with his teammates, every so often showing off a portion of emotion that his family was trained from birth to keep under control. However, it showed the most when Yugito had thrown a fireball at him for pointing out that she was staring at Naruto. So far his team was working together flawlessly, not a single mission had failed and, except for some minor goof-offs, was done in the quickest way possible.

Darui had also been silently evaluating the strengths and weaknesses each member had, both as a ninja, and personally. As a team overall, he could easily see why Raikage had made them an assassination specialist squad. Naruto, Yugito, and Isamu were highly skilled in stealth, being able to sneak in and out of buildings almost undetected.

Pushing those thoughts away, Darui grabbed his headset, "Positions?" he whispered into the microphone. There was silence before he heard a response. "Shadow in position", said a low, crackling voice. Moments later, two more voices were heard, "Fox/Cat in position", said Naruto and Yugito at the same time.

Darui nodded, "Alright Shadow, proceed with Plan A. Cat, get in as close as you can and wait for the signal. And Fox, create the diversion, and sneak in for the kill", said Darui, who was rewarded with a chorus of 'Hai, Sensei'.

* * *

><p>The leader of the bandits took another swig of sake as he looked around his camp. Most of his men were out patrolling the area, so it was highly unlikely that he and the few men he had left as guards would be disturbed. He looked around at all of the equipment and 'entertainment' they had acquired in the last town. The people that lived there were weak and too scared to try and stop them. But though the men were weak, the women were beautiful.<p>

The man smirked as he looked at his greatest prize. Lying in the corner was Nobuko Mi, daughter of the village mayor. She was tied to a pole, with a rag in her mouth, along with the other women they had kidnapped from the village. Her clothes were stripped, and her body was covered with semen and other bodily fluids. Her eyes were red with dried tears.

He decided that he wanted to have fun with his girl, and moved in a drunken stumble to the whimpering woman. He roughly pulled her towards his face and gave a long lick down her neck. Mi's eyes opened and widened in fear as she realized what was happening to her. The Bandit leader gave her a lustful grin, but before he could continue, a rustling was heard in the bushes.

The three men instantly stiffened. The two guards grabbed their swords and the leader pushed the girl to the ground. They moved in quietly, weapons raised and eyes hardened. Just then a small red fox poked its head out. The men relaxed and one even lowered his sword. It was then when the fox grinned and disappeared in a puff of smoke. As soon the little fox disappeared, the group knew that there was trouble.

Three kunai imbedded themselves in the ground at their feet. The guards looked up to see a young girl dressed in purple coming right at them. The guard on the left reacted the fastest, by swiping his sword across the girl's stomach. Instead of falling to the ground, her skin lite up with electricity, sending a strong electrical current down the blade of the sword, shocking the guard. He fell to his knees as he screamed in pain, before blacking out. The girl looked at the other thieves, before dispersing in a shower of lightning.

The two other bandits tried to run from the scene, back to the camp, but were met with another rain of kunai. The leader remained unharmed, but the same could not be said for his companion, whose body was now littered with the throwing knives.

The bandit leader knew what was happening. These were no mere mercenaries, these were shinobi, trained to kill from a young age, and weapons for the highest buyer. The mayor had probably hired them to save his daughter, but he was not going to let them have the satisfaction of going home unscathed.

He quickly stumbled to his feet and drew his sword. Mi was looking at him with utter terror in her eyes, begging him not to do what he was thinking. "Die Bitch!" he yelled as he charged the defenseless girl.

Mi closed her eyes, silently saying goodbye to all of her friends and loved ones, and waited for the pain. She waited, no pain, she waited for a bit longer but still felt no pain. Gathering her courage, she slowly opened up her eyes, and was met with the bandit captain on the ground, bleeding profusely from the jugular and lung.

In front of her was a boy no older than maybe 13 or 14, wearing a white sweatshirt with clouds on the top half. She could tell that he was taking deep breaths by the way his body rose and fell. Mi wondered why until she saw a bloody kunai in each hand.

* * *

><p>Naruto had been in the trees not so far off from the camp. The plan had gone off perfectly; that was at the beginning of course. The mayor of a small village in Yu had asked them to take care of some renegades that were terrorizing the village and also save his daughter and the rest of the captured women. This was the first C rank mission of team 33, and he was relieved that they got to do one mission that didn't involve finding any lost pets.<p>

Darui had taken care of the bandits patrolling the area rather quickly, and then had said that taking out the last three would be great training for them. Naruto had summoned a small fox to lure the three thugs from their encampment, and when it disappeared, a **Raiton Bushnin** of Yugito had attacked them directly, purposely getting hit with their metal swords so it could send some powerful shocks to their enemies, while the real Yugito went and freed the women in the cages. Isamu stayed in the trees, waiting for the right moment when the other two started to run. As soon as they did, he used a **Kage Kunai no Justu** to finish them off.

What they did not expect was for the thief leader to survive, and charge the Mayor's daughter with the intent to kill. Naruto knew he had to act fast. He jumped from his hiding place and pulled two kunai from his pouch. Sprinting towards the man, as soon as he was close enough, he made for a slice with his left hand, cutting the leaders jugular in half. Naruto then stabbed his other hand into the man's left lung, embedding the blade deep into skin, before kicking the carcass away.

As Naruto took a couple of breaths to calm down, he realized what he had done. He had killed the man, in cold blood, and then after he had died, he had continued to stab, to make sure he was dead. In truth, the leader had died the moment his jugular was cut, letting loose a torrent of his blood pour out. He was already dead when Naruto stabbed him in the lung, and he was already dead, when he hit the ground, and he kicked him.

Naruto turned around to look at the woman he had just saved. The girl looked to be around 15 or 16, with brown hair, that currently looked wild and sticky. She had green eyes that stared directly at him, that were red and puffy. As he looked down, he blushed crimson, seeing that she was completely naked. He quickly looked around the campsite, until his eyes fell upon a blanket. He grabbed it and draped it around the shivering girl.

He gave her a small smile, "Hey, it's ok. You are safe now, your father sent us to find you. He has been very worried", he said in a soft voice. Naruto untied her hands and then removed the rag in her mouth. There was silence for a moment, before the girl embraced him and started to sob into his shoulder. Not having much experience with this, he just patted her on the back, whispering soothing words to her, and sending a pleading look to his teammates and sensei, who had arrived moments earlier with confusion written on their faces.

* * *

><p>After they had gotten Mi to calm down, they began escorting the women back to their homes. Mi though, refused to let go of Naruto, much less let him out of her sight. Most of the team felt fine with this, except for Yugito, who kept shooting death glares when she was not looking, or when Mi moved in closer to Naruto.<p>

When they arrived back at the village, the women ran to their husbands or loved ones, while Mi ran to her father, who was smiling with joy. After the greetings were through, the mayor gave Darui a small scroll, saying that a hawk had arrived with it while they were gone. He also invited them to stay a night at his mansion, before they headed back to Kumo.

That night before dinner, Darui called his team into the living room for a team meeting. "First off, I want to tell you that you all did excellently on your first C rank mission. But suffice it to say, we are not going home just yet" he said as his students looked at him curiously. "I just got a message from Raikage-sama, a C ranked mission has just come in from Nami, and since we are the closest, he wants us to go and complete it", he continued.

"Why are we going there", asked Yugito, "I have always heard that Nami was a poor country, and I have never heard of our shinobi doing missions there". Isamu nodded, "It is quite odd, Nami mostly sends their mission requests to Konoha or Mist. So if they are sending us one, they are in serious need. Which brings up the question of why only a C rank", he said as he looked at his sensei for clarification.

Darui nodded, "Very good, Isamu. Yes, Nami has mostly done business with Konoha, and it is a poor country, but the only reason they are poor is because trade cannot get to the main lands by anything but boat" he said, as he laid a map on the floor. "Our client is building a bridge, connecting the main land to Nami. If that happens, Nami's economy will skyrocket. We are assigned to protect him from bandits that may try to stop him"; Darui pointed out the island on the map, before rolling it up, "Any questions?"

"You are forgetting one key detail, sensei", said Naruto, his eyes were now glued to the floor, "The only way to get to Nami is to go through Hi no Kuni", he said. Yugito and Isamu widened their eyes. How could they forget that Nami was off the coast of Hi no Kuni? Naruto returning to that land would not only cause a great deal of trouble for their squad, but also for Naruto mentally.

Darui looked straight at Naruto, "I know", he said, making Naruto's head shoot up, "It is partly the reason that we have been chosen to go. With the chance that we might encounter some Konoha shinobi, if they attack, you will know the most about the clans inside the village and might be able to link the attackers with their clans. This will give us not only information on the hidden village, but an idea of how to beat them".

Naruto still looked unsure, so Darui's gaze softened before pointing to the Hitai-ate around his neck, "This marks you as a shinobi of Kumo," he said, catching his students attention, "though you have had citizenship in Konoha, you also had traveling rights, and could leave the village if you pleased. But now that you are one of our shinobi, you have citizenship in Kumo, and are part of our military, so if they try to take you back, it is an act of war".

Naruto looked at his own Hitai-ate, tracing his finger along the engraving of the Kumo symbol. He looked up at his teacher with determination and a grin, "Let's do it, Sensei," he said loudly, causing Yugito to grin as well, and Darui and Isamu to have a small smile. "Now that that is settled," said Darui as he moved towards the dining room, "Dinner is almost ready".

* * *

><p>The mayor had spared no expense in the meal. It was a buffet of foods from all around Yu, and just for Naruto, there was a large bowl of ramen. Mi, who looked a lot better than when they found her, spent the night talking with Naruto, which only seemed to annoy Yugito more.<p>

When they left in the morning for a small port town in Yu, Mi had given Naruto a light peck on the lips as a goodbye. Isamu had to keep Yugito from tearing her to shreds. Nibi wasn't doing much better, as she kept screaming at the 'harlot', who was taking her Kyu-kun.

As the team ran towards the Nami, Yugito eyes began to wander to Naruto. After she had learned of his status, she had forgiven him, but not before he did some things for her. The first was that she got a couple of pictures of him without his mask. She spent hours teasing his fan club, giving them brief flashes of the photos before turning away. The second thing was that he had to promise that he would not wear his mask outside of the village. She had discovered that it was his weak point, if she rubbed his whiskers; he would instantly calm down, and do whatever she said. The final wish was that he had to pay for two weeks of Sushi for Yugito. Naruto had cried when he heard that, saying that he would not be able to afford ramen again for months.

"**What a sexy ass, not surprising since he is Kyu-kun's Jinchuriki,"** said Nibi. Yugito sighed, ever since Nibi had learned that the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto, her perverted comments were even dirtier than before. She had even had to excuse herself when Nibi's ideas got to her.

'Will you knock it off, Nibi, you are such a pervert' thought Yugito to the demon. **"Oh ho, I'm the perv? Remember Kitten, I see what you see, so if I am the perv, why are you staring at his ass?"** said Nibi, a lecherous grin on her face.

Yugito tried to respond, but the blush growing on her face was making it hard to think. 'Sh-shut up, Ero-Neko' she thought back. Nibi just laughed, **"You know that you should be using this to your advantage. The ramen girl is always at the shop, Samui is on another team, you are the only one that he understands"** she said.

Yugito snorted, 'I don't like him like that, Nibi', she thought back to the hellcat. **"Oh, you can't lie to me, Kitten, I have seen those dreams you have about him. Very kinky, even by my standards,"** Nibi said, before giggling pervertedly. Yugito lit up completely red, and tried to stutter a retort, but came up with nothing.

Naruto looked over at Yugito, who was red as a tomato. "Are you ok?" he asked. She instantly stiffened, stuttered a 'no', then made some distance between them. Naruto gave her a confused look, but left her to her thoughts and the giant perverted Neko.

Naruto had been on edge ever since they had entered Hi no Kuni. Though they were traveling on the coast, Konoha was still a good distance away, and they kept most of their ANBU around the village, and had small guard towers all around the country. Darui's words had comforted him a bit. Besides what were the chances that he would meet any Konoha shinobi in Nami.

* * *

><p>On a path outside of the village, Kakashi felt the need to sneeze. He was on his team's first C rank mission. He looked at the members of team 7. Uchiha Sasuke, Rookie of the year and the last of the Uchiha, and the reason he had a team in the first place. After the Uchiha Massacre, the village and the village council saw it fit to have the only jonin with a developed Sharingan to train the boy. Sasuke had spikey black hair and black, soulless eyes, like all Uchiha. He had a blue shirt with the collar up, white shorts, white arm protectors going down each arm and his Hitai-ate displayed on his forehead. He was currently brooding, ignoring the incessant chatter of his two teammates.<p>

Sakura Haruno was a very smart girl; it was because of that that she was the top Kunoichi of her class, rather than for fighting skills. She had long pink hair that ran down her back, bright green eyes, and a noticeable forehead. She wore a red qipao dress and her Hitai-ate atop her head. She was currently going on about how great her 'Sasuke-kun' was, and was berating their temporary member, Kiba.

Kiba Inuzuka was very similar to his clan, personality-wise, brash, feral, stubborn, but deathly loyal to his comrades. He was officially part of team 8, with Kurenai as his sensei, but she had lent him to Kakashi, provided that he take of him, and not turn him into a pervert. He wore a fur lined coat, gray pants, and his partner, Akamaru, hidden in his hood. He was currently yelling at Sakura to keep quiet about the 'Emo king'.

Their current job was to escort an old man, Tazuna, back to his home in Nami, and protect him from bandits while he finished building his bridge. The mission seemed a bit odd, but after Sasuke had demanded a higher ranked mission, this was the only thing that he had. Hopefully nothing would go wrong and he would be back in Konoha by next month. He did not know what he had just gotten himself into.

* * *

><p>Naruto was bored, and even though he had matured during his time with Rakki, one minute of nothing still felt like an eternity. He was currently on guard duty while the rest of his teammates rested. It had taken three days to get to wave, and then they had hitched a ride with a local fisherman to the other side. Darui's main objective was to find and report to Tazuna for the mission.<p>

Kumo had sent a letter of acceptance to Tazuna, but they still had to find him to start the mission. Naruto pulled out a photo of the man. 'Old, male, glasses, fat' he repeated in his mind. **"You forgot drunkard,"** said Kyuubi, pointing out a large flask tied to his pack. Naruto sighed, he lazily checked his surroundings for the fiftieth time, but straightened when he felt a surge of chakra.

Creating a **Raiton Bushnin** to go and inform his teammates, he set off in the direction of the surge. When he arrived, he could easily say he was shocked. Standing by the lake was the one and only Momochi Zabuza, Kirigakure no Kijin, owner of the Kubikiribocho, and the leader of the coup d'état that Ameyuri-nee was a part of. His head was wrapped in bandages, except for the top, which his brown hair stuck out of. He also had one a pair of striped baggy pants.

Across from him was someone who Naruto knew instantly, Hatake Kakashi, but better known as the Kopi Ninja no Kakashi, known to have copied thousands of jutsus with his implanted Sharingan eye. He wore standard Konoha jonin gear, and had a facemask much like the one Naruto wore in Kumo. His Hitai-ate was on his head, revealing his Sharingan eye.

Naruto then looked to the other group, there was a kid in a blue shirt, a girl with pink hair that reminded him vaguely of the banshee that had attacked him, and another boy with a dog growling at Zabuza. Behind them was a heavy looking, old man, wearing a straw hat.

Naruto's mind began to move a mile a minute, 'Ok, the old man they are guarding matches the description we have of Tazuna. Since Kakashi is here, they must be his genin team, and by the looks of it, still wet behind the ears. They must have been sent to also protect Tazuna, but why would he hire two separate villages?'

As Naruto pondered this, he noticed a group of familiar chakra signatures headed his way. He turned to find Isamu, Darui, and Yugito jumping towards him. Darui moved silently to his side, "What is the situation?" he asked quietly. "Bad," Naruto replied before pointing at the battle, "Konoha is here, and they seem to be doing the exact same job we have. And to make it worse, they have just made enemies with Zabuza Momichi".

Darui looked over the situation, before looking back at his team, "This is your decision. Technically, since Tazuna has lied about the mission specs, and has hired two teams from two different villages, we can just leave," he said. Team 33 looked at each other before nodding their heads, "Let's hear what he has to say, then we can decide whether to abandon the mission," said Isamu, who was now preparing a set of paper bombs.

Sighing, Darui looked back at the fight. Kakashi had fought back with some high-powered Suiton Justus, and had knocked Zabuza into a tree. Just when Kakashi was about to end Zabuza's life, a senbon flew out of the trees, hitting Zabuza in the neck, making him fall over dead.

Kakashi turned to find a Kiri hunter-nin walking out of the bushes. "Thank you for your help in subduing him. I have been after Zabuza for quite a while," he said as he moved towards the body. Kakashi checked to see if Zabuza was really dead, before handing him over to the hunter.

"I must go and dispose of the body, but before I go", the hunter turned towards the hidden Kumo shinobi, "you can come out now. Darui silently cursed before looking at Naruto. Naruto nodded and pulled his mask up to cover his whisker marks, and flipped on his hoodie to hide his hair.

When they jumped out of the trees, Kakashi and his team were surprised, 'How long have they been there?' Kakashi thought to himself. Tazuna seemed at first surprised, then worried. "What are you doing here, Kumo-san," asked the Hunter-nin. Darui gave a bored sigh, "My team and I are here for a mission that was assigned to us from a Mr. Tazuna. It involved guarding him against bandits, but seeing that he already has a team, and that he lied about the specifications, we would like to have a little 'chat' with him".

Tazuna shivered, and team 7 was on guard again. The Hunter just nodded and flung Zabuza's carcass over his shoulder, "I see…well I must be off" he said, before disappearing into the forest.

Kakashi then turned his full attention to Kumo team, "Why are you really here? Are you after the Sharingan?" he accused. Naruto let out a scoff, "While the Sharingan is indeed a powerful weapon in the right hands, considering its…history, and it would not bode well to take it to Kumo". Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared at the boy who mocked his family.

Darui kept his bored expression, "We just want to talk with him, and frankly we wanted to avoid your ninja while we were here. So you being on this job is as big a problem to us as to you," he stated. Kakashi stared at them for a bit longer before looking at Tazuna, "Take us back to your house, you can have your little _talk_ when you get there. And after that I want to have one with you," finishing off with a glare that made Tazuna sweat bullets.

Kakashi replaced his Hitai-ate, before he collapsed. Sakura was about to yell, when she saw that the Kumo boy, who had spoken earlier, had caught Kakashi and was now carrying him on his shoulder. "Chakra exhaustion," he said curtly, before turning to Tazuna, "lead the way Tazuna-san".

He nodded, then led the two teams, one from Kumo and the other from Konoha, back to his house.

* * *

><p>In the forest a couple of miles away, the hunter-nin laid Zabuza's body on the wet grass. He then removed a tool kit from his pouch. "First I'll drain the blood," he said, as he moved the tweezers towards the neck.<p>

But before he could, a hand shot up and stopped him, "I can do it myself", said Zabuza. "Oh, you've already come back", said the hunter as he moved his hands back. Zabuza grunted as he yanked the senbon out of his neck, "Damn it, you are too rough", he said.

The Hunter just looked blankly at him, "Says the person just yanking them out. You could die like that". Zabuza just scoffed before glaring at his partner, "When are you going to take off that fucking mask" he yelled.

The hunter just chuckled, "I like the mask, and it did help you get out alive". However, he removed the mask, he had long black hair, pale skin, and large brown eyes. On first look, he looked quite feminine.

Zabuza gave an annoyed grunt before looking off into the mist, "Next time, I will kill that scarecrow" said with vengeance. "Yes, but now you will have to deal with another team," said Haku as he put his tool kit away. Zabuza raised his nonexistent eyebrows, "They got reinforcements?" he asked. Haku shook his head, "No, a team from Kumo came to take the mission as well".

Zabuza just ignored her comment, "When will I be ready to fight again?" he asked. Haku looked over his body, "Kakashi did do a number on you. I guess around two weeks".

Zabuza shut his eyes, "Then we wait", he said as Haku helped him back to their base.

* * *

><p>The air was tense at the Tazuna household. After they had arrived, Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, had led both teams to separate rooms, before going to make dinner. Darui and his team had gotten the talk with Tazuna, who told them the story of Nami's current depression, and the impact the bridge would have. He spoke of how Gato, of the Gato Company, was in control of a majority of businesses and crime in the country, due to his monopoly at the docks. After hearing the story, Naruto could not hold it against him for lying about the mission. He was doing what was best for his village.<p>

Darui had gone to talk to Kakashi about their current predicament, while the genin teams would wait in the house. Both sides were on the opposite sides of the living room, some having a glaring match, while others held a passive distaste.

Sasuke was still brooding about Naruto's insult, and had his black eyes, targeted on him. Sakura was switching between fawning over Sasuke, and watching the Kumo Kunoichi. Whether it was for being a threat to the mission, or for Sasuke, no one could tell. Kiba and Akamaru were openly growling at the other team, Kiba actually had his hand on his pouch, that would twitch every so often towards a kunai.

Yugito was pretending to look at her nails, while both of her teammates could tell she was thinking of a way to stop that pink haired girl from staring. Isamu, just sighed and looked at the door, waiting for Darui and Kakashi to return, and Naruto gave a bored stare up at the ceiling.

Naruto could feel both of the male teammates eyes on him, so he decided to end it. "Would you please stop staring, I don't go that way, though I appreciate that you think that I am a attractive", he said, grinning a bit under his mask as he saw the Uchiha's fists ball. "Sasuke-kun is not gay!" yelled Sakura, **"Shannaro! He is definitely not gay! How dare they insult him, he should go and Kick their ass!"** yelled inner Sakura.

Kiba gave a louder growl, causing Naruto to look at him, "And what is your problem," he asked politely. "What is my problem?" he asked as he moved a bit closer, "You guys are a mess of bad problems! First, you come and try and kidnap Hinata, then you demand her father's head as a compensation for the loss of your head ninja!" he yelled a bit louder, making Akamaru yip in approval.

Isamu turned to him, "Hinata, as in the Hyuga Hinata, heiress of the Hyuga clan?" he asked, gaining a nod from Kiba. Isamu nodded, before turning back to the door, "Though I agree that the kidnapping was not the best idea, do not go placing Konoha on a pillar. A lot of sacrifice is needed to gain, and maintain power". Yugito nodded, "Even we know of the Bird Cage Seal that the main house puts on the branch house. Not only does it stop the Byakugan from leaving Konoha, but also can be used to ensure loyalty to the main house".

"Yeah, but at least we don't go around stealing bloodlines," said Sakura with a triumphant smirk. Yugito scowled, "We don't massacre our clans", she said, making Sasuke glare. "We don't demand heads as compensation" he said, making Yugito, and even Isamu, narrow their eyes. Darui and Kakashi had walked back into the room, and had heard most of the argument.

"We don't mistake a child, for a giant fox," said Naruto, beginning to glare at the other team. Sasuke scoffed, Sakura took a step back from the glare, and Kiba looked ashamed. Kakashi looked visibly saddened. Yugito's gaze softened on Naruto, but then turned towards team 7 with unmasked hatred.

"'Why would you care," asked Sakura, but Naruto just ignored her. "Well, now that that is out of the away", Darui said, "We have decided that our teams will be working together on this mission. Any questions?" Team 33 said nothing, but Sasuke, on the other hand, asked "Why do we have to work with these weaklings?" Kakashi sighed, "Running into Zabuza is a problem, and we are going to need more help to deal with him".

"But Kakashi-sensei, Zabuza is dead, that hunter-nin killed him," said Sakura, pointing out the obvious. "That wouldn't be the case," said Isamu, "My clan is part of the assassin and Hunter corps of Kumo. Senbons are an unusual weapon for Hunter-nin, they are used more to delay, rather than to kill. Furthermore, rather than destroying the body on site, which is normal procedure, he took it away".

Kakashi nodded, "Correct, that is also the reason that we will be training for the next two weeks. It will probably take that long for him to recover. Now that you know that we are working together, why don't we get to know each other. My name is Kakashi Hatake," he finished with an eye smile.

Sakura scowled, "Sakura Haruno", she said. "Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my partner, Akamaru" said Kiba, still a hurt by the demon comment. Sasuke gave a smirk, "Uchiha Sasuke", he said pompously.

Yugito crossed her arms, "Nii Yugito". "Sho Isamu", Isamu said curtly. Naruto looked at Darui, who nodded. He looked back to the group and took a deep breath. Removing his hood, and his mask, "Uzumaki Naruto", he announced.

* * *

><p><span>Kirigakure no Kijin:<span> Demon of the Hidden Mist

Kopi Ninja no Kakashi: Copy Ninja Kakashi

* * *

><p><strong>So Yeah, thats it. Sorry about the cliff hanger. But here are the final poll results. <strong>

**Mei: 79 votes (1st)**

**Anko: 68 votes (2nd)**

**Konan: 56 votes (3rd)**

**Fu: 49 votes**

**Temari: 45 votes**

**Kurenai: 41 votes**

**So this will be fun. Anko was a character i was wishing was going to be in the harem, basically because she is hilarious in my opinion. I'll try and get in another chapter soon. I don't know when, but soon.**


	8. Working with Konoha

**Hey, so sorry about the cliff hanger last time, but I have to say, the reviews i got about it just made me laugh. And just a quick note, to make the story easier to find, i am making the main pairing be NARUTO/YUGITO. This suggestion came from "superhyoga" so thank him for it. **

Complete silence had captured the room. Not a single person dared to speak. Kiba stared slack jawed at the sun kissed blond, his eyes almost bulging out of his skull. Sasuke's eyes were widened in shock, and maybe excitement. Sakura was now visibly shaking, her skin had become pale and she was staring in fear at Naruto. However, none of these reactions could compete with what Kakashi was going through.

Kakashi's former composure as a jonin of Konoha had disappeared the moment Naruto had said his name. His one visible eye was widened in a mix of shock, confusion, and happiness. When he had first seen the hood fall, the wild, spikey hair had triggered a thought of his late sensei and son, but when the mask fell, the three whisker marks on each chin resembled the one and only Uzumaki Naruto.

Praying that this was not a trick, he flipped his Hitai-ate to show his coveted Sharingan eye. The Kumo team stiffened. Darui coiled back, ready to strike, Isamu placed his hand on his kunai pouch, and Yugito was ready to pounce, with two kunai in each hand. Kakashi paid no attention to this though, and just looked at Naruto. His eye assured it, there was no genjutsu placed, or henge disguise. This was the real Uzumaki Naruto.

Seeing that there was no more need for his eye, and that it was causing complications, Kakashi recovered his eye. Naruto's team relaxed slightly, but kept in their positions. "It's really you," said Kakashi softly. He tried to take a step forward, but was stopped when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder. He turned to see Darui, who had a tired glare, "I suggest that you keep your distance, Kakashi-san. Considering Naruto's history with your village".

Kakashi nodded, while on the inside he was fuming. Here was Naruto, one of his only ways of repaying his dead sensei for all of his kindness, and he was again stopped by another obstacle. First it was Naruto's supposed 'death', and now it was his status as a Kumo-nin.

Sasuke, who had overcome his previous shock, gave Naruto a glare, "Impossible, the Konoha Demon died by the hands of two chunin," he stated. Yugito and Isamu narrowed their eyes at the 'Konoha Demon' comment, but Naruto just sighed. "It is quite possible, and it was not only two chunin, they only used a Katon on me, the mob did the rest," he said, gaining the attention of Kakashi, making a note to ask him what he ment by that.

"But still, what are we waiting for!" yelled Sakura, "Whether he is alive or not is not the problem! We have to kill him now before he guts us all!" Team 33, and to Naruto's surprise, Kakashi moved in front of him. Yugito even went as far to get in close to the pink haired girl, to hold a kunai to her neck. "Just you try, bitch," she said coldly, pressing the blade deeper into her neck, making Sakura shiver.

"Yugito, don't harm the Konoha Nin," said Darui, lowering his weapon, "it wouldn't bode well to kill another village's shinobi". Yugito gave her sensei a look, then turned back to Sakura with a frightening glare, before lowering her kunai. The room relaxed a bit, but the air was still hostile.

"So Naruto," said Kakashi, sending a small glare at Darui, "How did you end up as a Kumo shinobi?" Naruto looked up at the ceiling, "Well, after I was left to die by the villagers," he said, before looking back at Kakashi, "a man came and found me. He took me away from the area and treated my wounds. I told him about my life in Konoha, and he told me why I was hated". Kakashi cringed at the last part. "After that, he offered to teach me the ways of the shinobi, and I traveled with him for a couple of years, before coming to Kumo last year to join the academy", Naruto finished, acting as if he was talking about the weather.

Kakashi wanted to ask more, but just then Tsunami walked into the room. "Dinner's ready," she said happily, completely unaware of the tension in the room. Isamu was the first to get up and walk to the kitchen. He turned to face his teammates, and team 7, "Despite our feelings about each other, we should push them to the side for now. It would not be beneficial to hate your comrades", he said, specifically looking at Naruto on the last one.

Darui sighed, and sheathed his sword, "You are right, Isamu, and tomorrow we will be doing group training in the morning, to get a feeling of how the others fight. Then one team will guard the bridge builder, while the others do their own training", he said, to which all of his team nodded. Kakashi looked at his team, and begrudgingly, they nodded as well. They all then moved towards the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Dinner was kind of awkward. Yugito and Isamu had snatched the seats near Naruto, while Sakura, Sasuke, and Kiba had taken the seats on the opposite side. Kakashi and Darui sat at the corners of the table, and Tazuna, Tsunami, and her son, Inari, sat at the other end, watching with curiosity as the ninja ate.<p>

Sasuke would go from silently brooding, to giving a glare at Naruto, which he cleverly ignored. Sakura would switch from fawning over Sasuke, glaring at Yugito, who returned her glares in equal vigor, to giving fearful glances at Naruto. Kiba's expression was hard to read, but it could easily be placed between anger, and confusion.

Isamu just ate, not really paying attention to the other occupants, but he would scan the room every so often for trouble. Naruto acted like everything was normal, as if the Konoha team was not even there. He complimented Tsunami on her cooking, talked with his teammates, and even gave Akamaru some of his dish, instantly winning over the small dog. But every time he grinned, Isamu, Yugito, Darui, and Kakashi could tell that it was forced.

After dinner, the two teams split up into two rooms; at first it was going to be boys in one, girls in another, but Yugito threw a fit about being in a room with the pink haired banshee, and they decided to just sleep with their teams.

Naruto was currently unsealing his sleeping gear, when he felt a presence behind him. He turned and saw Isamu looking at him with a somber look. "I am sorry I had to put you on the spot like that," he said, sincerely sorry, "I saw the way you were looking at them, and it would not have been the best if you attacked one of them". Naruto nodded, but said nothing. "Being a Kumo shinobi is a double edged sword," Isamu continued, noticing Naruto was listening, "Though you are protected from Konoha taking you back, you also represent Kumo. Attacking them could prove disastrous".

Naruto got up and looked at Isamu with a smile, "I knew why you did it and I thank you for it. I needed that to put me back in my place. I am no longer a part of Konoha, but a part of Kumo", he said. Isamu gave a small smile, and held out his fist, which Naruto quickly fist bumped.

After they were all prepared, team 33 fell asleep, with Yugito inching closer and closer to Naruto. None of them noticed Darui slip out of the room.

* * *

><p>Darui was currently waiting in the forest behind the house. The moon was high and illuminated the forest floor. The wind made the leaves bristle, and the rhythmic pattern of the water sloshing against the dock was relaxing. All in all, it was a nice night.<br>Just then, Kakashi appeared out of the shadows, "So you came?" he asked, to which Darui just shrugged. "If I didn't, you probably would have come and dragged me out here", he said. Kakashi nodded, "Then let's get right to business," he said as he began to glare at Darui, "Why is Naruto a Kumo-nin".

Darui just looked up at the stars, "Because he wanted to be," was his simple answer. Kakashi's eyes narrowed a bit more, "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked. Darui moved his gaze back to Kakashi, "Exactly what I said; Naruto wanted to come to Kumo. From my knowledge, Naruto was found beaten, stabbed, and crucified nearly four miles from your village. Do you really think he would want to protect the people who tortured him", he said, though in a slightly angered tone.

"This isn't all about what he wants," said Kakashi, "Naruto belongs in Konoha, with his family". "And who might that be?" Darui asked, "The Sandaime, yes, he did a great job protecting him before". Kakashi cringed at the sarcasm in his voice. "The Ichirakus," Darui continued, "Sure they care about him, but it would be hard for those three people to make up for a entire village that hates you".

"He wouldn't be alone," said Kakashi, "He would have me, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai…" His voice faded as he failed to come up with any more people that cared about him. "That is a very short list," said Darui, "Plus this sounds like you are doing this for you rather than for Naruto. Or maybe is it also that Konoha wants their precious weapon back?"

Kakashi's eyes widened, "How did you know-" "That he is the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko", Darui finished, interrupting Kakashi's question, "Easy to tell when he heals from 2nd degree burns in an hour".

Darui turned to start walking away, "From any angle you look at it, Naruto is a Kumo shinobi. But if you even try to steal him back", Darui looked back at Kakashi, his eyes ice cold, "I will kill you". He then turned and began walking away, leaving Kakashi in a dejected state. Darui hated seeing such a revered shinobi like this, and he knew it would be better for an alliance if Naruto got along with some of Konoha's elites.

"Naruto doesn't hate Konoha," Darui said, catching Kakashi's attention, "He just dislikes the people there. But if you were to build a bond with him, Naruto might still dislike most of Konoha, but will consider you a friend". With that, Darui vanished, leaving Kakashi deep in thought.

'I may not be able to bring Naruto back,' thought Kakashi, as he balled his fists, 'But I will try my hardest to become a part of his life.' With this new determination in mind, Kakashi walked back to his room, 'Sensei, I will not abandon your son'.

* * *

><p>The following morning, after Tsunami had made both teams a large breakfast, the Kumo and Konoha Nin were in the forest. Kakashi had recommended a spar to learn how the others fight. Darui did not want to agree to this, at threat of making his team's abilities known, but agreed, because of three reasons. One, the spar would only utilize taijutsu, and his team could afford to show off some of their skill. Two, this really would help their team dynamic. And three, Naruto needed to let out some steam, and the Konoha shinobi would be the perfect targets.<p>

"Alright, who is up first?" Kakashi asked. He looked at the group of young genin, before pointing at Kiba, and Isamu. "You two look ready". Kiba pumped his fist up in the air, "Hell yeah, come on Akamaru, let's show these Kumo-nin why Konoha is number one!" Akamaru gave a happy yip.

Isamu just sighed and began walking over to his side, but was stopped when Naruto put his hand on Isamu's shoulder. "Don't hurt him too much, we need him for the mission", he said with a small smile, which Isamu returned, before continuing his walk to the center of the field.

Kakashi had watched the small display of friendship, and he had to admit that it felt good to know that Naruto had found some sort of friendship. 'And maybe something more' he thought, as he spied Yugito staring at Naruto's behind, before blushing, and turning away. Kakashi had to stiffen a perverted giggle; he would have to tell Jiraiya about this.

"Alright, you remember the rules, only taijutsu," said Darui, who was proctoring the match, "Hajime".  
>Kiba instantly got into his Four Legs stance, while Isamu just put his foot back. Kiba, seeing this as a sign of weakness, charged forwards, trying to end the match with a kick to the head. At the last second, Isamu moved out of the way. Kiba flew over him but quickly recovered with a handstand, before twisting his body so he was on all fours again.<p>

This continued for a while; Kiba would attack Isamu, but at the last moment he would dodge. Akamaru, who was told to sit out the round, watched with a mix of whines and growls, as Isamu played with his comrade. Yugito and Naruto wanted to laugh, it was easy to see Isamu's strategy, learn as much as he could from the opponent, and then when they were tired, come in with a finishing blow.

Kiba was getting frustrated, "Why won't you stay still, coward!" he yelled as he charged Isamu again. Isamu said nothing, and continued to stay out of the dog's reach. Breathing heavily, Kiba glared at Isamu, who finally decided to say something, "Why are you so adamant on beating me?"

"Because you were the ones who tried to kidnap Hinata", he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And why are you trying to protect Hinata?" Isamu asked, as he dodged another strike. "Because she's my friend." Kiba swung a punch. Isamu gave a teasing smile, "The rise in your pheromone levels tell me that you want her to be something more". Kiba stopped attacking and stared wide eyed at Isamu, who continued to talk, "If this is true, why haven't you talked to her? Is it because she is with someone else, or are you just too scared that she will reject you? So tell me, who is the real coward here?"

Kiba was now shaking in rage, he charged blindly at Isamu, who just stood and waited. When he got close, Isamu ducked under his outstretched arm, twisted it behind his back, and proceeded to give two hard punches into Kiba's kidneys. Kiba's knees buckled after the two hits, his body only being held up by Isamu's grip on his arm. "And you're dead", Isamu said nonchalantly, dropping Kiba on the ground. "Never let your emotions get the better of you, or you will die". Isamu said as he walked back to his team.

"Winner, Isamu" Darui said, proud about how his student had handled that. Kakashi was now helping a limping Kiba to the sidelines, where Akamaru was yipping worriedly.

"Wow, I never knew you could be so cruel, Isamu", said Yugito, still surprised about how quickly her kind teammate had turned into a ruthless fighter. Isamu just shrugged, "I save it for my opponents," he said, sitting next to Naruto. Naruto just grinned and placed an arm around Isamu, "Don't worry Yugi-chan, Isamu is our friend, and would never be that cruel to us". Isamu gave a small smile, "Yes, we are comrades and friends, and I would never let either of you get harmed, if I could do something to stop it".

"So if we were starving and out of money, you would buy us ramen and sushi", asked Yugito hopefully. Isamu rolled his eyes, "Does it look like I could afford that much food? If you could eat sushi whenever you wanted, the world would have a fish shortage". Yugito turned away and pouted, while Naruto laughed.

After Kakashi was finished tending to Kiba, he looked at the remaining genin. "How about we have our two Kunoichi next", he said with an eye smile.

Yugito and Sakura got on opposite sides of each other, each glaring daggers at the other. Darui looked at both kunoichi, making sure they were ready, before slicing down his hand and yelling, "Hajime".

Yugito, wasting no time, rushed at her opponent. Sakura, seeing her coming jumped to the right to avoid the punch. However, Yugito had anticipated this, and at the last moment, pushed her left foot against the ground, propelling her at Sakura with a strong right hook.

Taken off guard by her attack, Sakura was punched into a nearby tree. As she struggled to stand up, Yugito appeared next to her, punching her into the tree again, before finishing up with a roundhouse kick.

Sakura's breath was taken away by the first punch, and the kick to the head knocked her out.

"Winner, Yugito", said Darui, as Yugito smirked, and walked back to Naruto and Isamu. "You know, the reason we are doing this spar is because we want to learn about our temporary teammates. You can't really do that when you knock your opponent out in less than a minute," said Isamu. Yugito just snorted, "I did learn something, that she can't fight. And plus, that was payback for staring at me all yesterday".

Naruto laughed at his teammates bickering, before getting up and stretching, "Well I guess it is my turn". Sasuke was already waiting on the field, looking angry and depressed as always. He smirked when he saw Naruto walk onto the field. "Why don't you give up right now? There is no way you can stand up to an Uchiha," he taunted. Naruto smirked right back, "I thought you needed the Sharingan to be an Uchiha."

Sasuke gritted his teeth at Naruto, before getting in the Uchiha clan stance, "Bring it on, Demon". "Right back at you, Susu-gay", said Naruto, adopting the traditional stance of the Kitsune no Sutairu.

As soon as Darui said 'Hajime', both boys jumped at each other. Sasuke punched at Naruto's abdomen, but he just twisted out of the way, and aimed a punch at Sasuke's head. Sasuke ducked, then brought his knee up to Naruto's chin.

Naruto's head was shot up, but he used the momentum of the attack to speed up his kick on Sasuke's head, this time hitting him. Naruto landed on his feet, and Sasuke did some flips in mid air, before landing gracefully on his feet.

Sasuke smirked at Naruto, "You're better than I thought, Maybe this will be a challenge". Naruto ignored him and began to charge. Sasuke got ready to intercept another punch to the head, but was surprised when Naruto's punch went right by his head, and pulled him into a hard hit with Naruto's knee.

Still a bit dazed, Naruto continued to land heavy punches on his torso, and every time the daze would end, Naruto would send another punch at his temples. Around the forth time Naruto had done this, he said to the staggering Sasuke, "I think it is about time I ended this".

Naruto brought both of his fists into Sasuke's ears, before aiming a kick it his throat. Sasuke was knocked down, coughing heavily. He was about to try and get up, but felt a foot on his face. "Stand down," said Naruto in a cold voice. Sasuke glared up at him, before smirking, "Uchiha never back down," he said, before punching right into Naruto's crotch.

All of the men on the sidelines cringed, while Yugito was livid. 'How dare that Emo-ass punch Naruto-kun in the balls! Oh, he will be in for hell' thought Yugito as Nibi nodded. "I agree, Kitten, he should have known that that area is ours. After the spar, you should go kiss it to make it better". Yugito ignored the perverted cat in her stomach and continued to watch the match.

Naruto staggered back, his hands cradling his balls. 'Pain, pain, pain' he thought over and over. Kyuubi could only agree. What the Uchiha did was a dick move. Sasuke had gotten up now, and was smirking up a storm, "We are ninja, we never play fair", he said. Naruto just glared at him, "I knew you were gay, no other straight man would willingly get in close to another man's nuts".

Sasuke was about to charge him, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kakashi gave him a lazy stare, "I think that we are done with the spars for today", he said, making Sasuke give a snort, and walk back to his team.

Darui could only nod as he went to check on his student. Sakura, who had woken up during the fight, ran over to check on her 'beloved', and Kiba was protecting his own pair, just in case Sasuke got angry.

Yugito had given Naruto an icepack from her pouch, and Isamu had an angry expression on his face. After the pain had subsided, Naruto gave Yugito a thankful gaze, "Thanks for the icepack", he said. Yugito blushed a bit, "We are on a team, we look out for each other", she then looked at Sasuke with a glare, "And I am also your friend, so I am going to get him back".

Naruto put a hand on Yugito's shoulder, drawing her attention back to him, "Don't, I already have a plan", he said with a mischievous grin, which Yugito soon matched.

Kakashi then walked over to the Kumo team. He looked at Naruto, "How's the pair", Naruto just shrugged. "Getting better, but you should teach Sasu-gay about not touching other men's private areas." Kakashi chuckled a bit, and rubbed the back of his head.

He then looked at Darui, "It looks like my team will need a lot of training. So do you mind taking the first watch of Tazuna?" Darui nodded and called his team to follow him.

Kakashi then turned to focus on his team, "Well, it looks like we have a lot of work to do", he said in a false, cheery voice. He turned to Kiba, "Kiba, while you may be good at taijutsu, it won't matter if your emotions get in the way". Kiba looked down, and Akamaru had his tail between his legs.

Kakashi then turned to Sakura, "Sakura, have you done any training at all since you left the academy?" When she didn't answer, he continued, "We will be doing a lot of taijutsu the next two weeks, so you better get your priorities in order". Sakura looked down, then at her crush for support, but when she didn't get any, she looked back at the ground.

"And you, Sasuke," said Kakashi, turning to the Rookie of the Year, "If this was a real fight, you would have been dead., The only reason you got that cheap shot was because Naruto had decided that it was over. If we were fighting Zabuza right now, you wouldn't be here talking". Sasuke scoffed and looked out towards the direction that the Kumo Nin's have gone.

"Now we are going to start our training, and believe me, I will not be going easy on you", said Kakashi, with a sadistic spark in his lone eye. The three genin shivered.

* * *

><p>"Wow, they sucked!" yelled Yugito, when they were a far enough distance away. Isamu could only nod in agreement, "Are they really the genin of the strongest of the five nations?" he asked Darui, who ignored the question. As Naruto, Yugito, and Isamu turned to walk towards the house, they saw Darui walking in another direction. "Darui-sensei, I thought we were guarding Tazuna today", asked Yugito.<p>

Darui shook his head, "Zabuza won't attack so soon, he must still be healing. So we will send Raiton Bushnins to guard Tazuna, who should be able to handle guarding him". Team 33 looked at each other, before nodding, creating the bushins, and following their sensei into the forest.

After a few minutes of walking, Darui turned around, "Since we are going to be fighting Zabuza this mission, I feel it is important to help you learn some new jutsus". Yugito and Naruto were now instantly interested. Darui pulled out a small scroll.  
>"Isamu, since you have the lowest amount of chakra in the group, and your affinity is earth, you would be reliable support in a fight. That is why I am going to help you learn the <strong>Doton: Doryuheki<strong>", said Darui, tossing the scroll to Isamu. Isamu wasn't hurt about having the least amount of chakra; it was hard to compare to two Jinchuriki and an elite Jonin.

"Yugito, you seem to be an excellent candidate for learning the **Katon: Karyudan.** It is a jutsu that can be used to support or to attack head on", said Darui as he tossed a scroll to Yugito. She was so excited that she quickly moved away from the group, and began reading the scroll.

Darui then pulled out a red scroll, "And for you, Naruto, I am basically giving back what is already yours", said Darui, gaining a confused look from Naruto. "This is one of the jutsu scrolls that Kumo scavenged from Uzushiogakure. Due to their sealing promise, every scroll we got were outfitted with blood seals, so no one could read them. But seeing as you are an Uzumaki, the scroll is rightfully yours, and Kumo would be better off having you learn them".

Naruto took the scroll like it was made of glass. He could see the whirlpool symbol on the sides, and bowed to Darui, who waved it off. Naruto then moved off into the corner of the open field, and bit his thumb. As blood began to flow from the cut, he swiped it over the seal. There was a quiet click, and then the scroll began to unravel. 'Hmmm, **the ****Kage Bushnin no Jutsu**' he thought, and began to read over the scroll for the next hour.

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><p>This continued for a week, the two teams would do team training in the morning, followed by one team guarding Tazuna, while the others would train. The first week, after Naruto had learned the <strong>Kage Bushnin no Jutsu<strong> in a couple of hours, the team had sent **Henged**** Bushnins** to guard Tazuna, rather than themselves, and used the time to train.

The two team's teamwork had only made slight progress. Kiba had decided to give the Kumo Nin a chance, and tried to socialize with them. After seeing the way that Naruto had treated Akamaru, he knew that he could not be a demon like the villagers called him. The two really hit it off, but Naruto still felt wary near Sakura and Sasuke.

Sakura, he had found out, was the daughter of the woman who had led the mob against him all those years ago. She had been fed the lies from her mother, and was hard pressed on sticking to them. When Yugito found out about this, she had to be held back by both Naruto and Isamu from killing the pink haired girl.

All Sasuke did was glare at Naruto, making snide comments whenever he could. Naruto would always have a comeback though, so Sasuke was always the one who lost his temper.

Kakashi was very nice in Naruto's opinion. He had pulled Naruto aside one day to ask for his forgiveness in not protecting him better, which Naruto waved off. He said that Kakashi had the same hairstyle as the Inu masked ANBU, who would take him to the hospital, so he knew that he was someone that he could trust.

Both teams were eating dinner as usual, with Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari, who just kept looking down at his food. "So Darui-san, how is your team's training going", asked Kakashi. "It's alright," said Darui, not really wanting to give away how much his team had progressed. "Ours is going great! We will be able to kick Zabuza-teme's ass in no time," yelled Kiba, getting a bark of agreement from Akamaru.

"Why do you try?" Inari said in a low voice, before looking up, "You're just going to die". The whole table froze and looked at him. Kiba was growling, Sasuke was glaring, and Tazuna and Tsunami were giving somber looks to Inari.

"We will defeat Zabuza, and Gato," said Naruto, conviction evident in his voice. "If you believe that then you are a fool", yelled Inari, "Anyone who believes that they can beat Gato is a fool". Naruto just stared at Inari, his will unchanged, "We will defeat Zabuza and Gato," he said again.

"No, you won't!" yelled Inari, tears starting to fall from his eyes, "You think that you understand us. You don't know pain, you have lived your whole life protected in a Ninja Village. There is no way you could understand-", he was interrupted by Naruto slamming his fist into the table.

"You think that I do not know pain", he asked, "For the first six years of my life, I was beaten, abused, and almost starved. I had no family, no friends, it was just me against them". He then looked down, "And after I left, a few years later I met a woman. She agreed to help me train my kenjutsu, as long as I would pay for her meals", he said, his hair now covering his eyes. "In the month I knew her, we became very close, I even started to call her nee-chan", Naruto gave a dry chuckle, "but then one day, she told me that she was dying, that I could not do anything to stop it".

Yugito was listening intently, she had never heard this story. Kakashi was listening to hear about how Naruto's life was outside of the village. "She died in my arms, and I could do nothing to stop it", said Naruto. "So when you think that we don't understand pain," he was now looking at Inari with fire in his eyes, "Remember that you still have a mother and grandfather who love you, while other people have had it a lot worse. So stop being a cry baby and stand up for yourself!"

Inari ran crying from the room, and Naruto began walking to the door. "I'm not hungry anymore, I'll be outside training". Yugito tried to get up to follow him, but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Kakashi looking at her. "Let him go," he said, "He needs to let out some steam". Kakashi then went after Inari, to talk to the kid about what had happened.

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><p><span>Kitsune no Sutairu:<span> Fox Tail Style

**Doton: Doryuheki:** Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall

**Katon: Karyudan:** Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet

**Kage Bushnin no Jutsu**:Multiple Shadow Clone Technique (Duh)

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><p><strong>So that is the chapter, I do not know if I will be writing another chapter before the holidays, but if I do, see you then, If not, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!<strong>

**Read and Review**


	9. Battle on the Bridge

**IT'S ALIVE! Sorry I have not written in forever, but while on vacation a group of sexy girls stole my computer. So then I had to go one a thrilling adventure involving car chases, girls, sex, drugs, and over 14 million dollars in property damage. Just know how much I went through to get this back.**

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich<p>

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

The sun had just started to rise in Nami as Haku strolled through the forest. He was wearing a pink kimono as apposed to his usual hunter-nin garb. His hair was let down, giving him a more feminine appearance. He was also carrying around a small woven basket filled with herbs, adding to the image.

Zabuza was still recovering from his meeting with the Konoha shinobi and was spending another day in bed, as he had for the last week, and was beginning to get irritable. While Haku adored Zabuza, he could not stand to hear a grown A rank criminal whine about being stuck in a bed. He had decided to take a walk to gather more herbs to help him recover, and to clear his head.

As Haku walked through the dew covered grass, he smelled the fresh air around him, taking it in, relieving him of all his stress. That was until he smelled the undeniable odor of sweat and smoke.

Curious, Haku used his training to move through the bushes and grasses without a sound, and what he saw brought shock to his eyes.

All natural life was wiped clean from the open area. Craters dotted the ground randomly, and some of the trees were still smoking with large burns scarring the bark.

In the middle of the destruction lay a sleeping boy with sun kissed blond hair, and three whisker marks on his cheeks. Around his neck lay a Hitai-ate with the Kumo symbol on it.

'Could this be one of the genin from Kumo' Haku asked himself as he slowly walked closer towards the sleeping ninja. That thought seemed to scare Haku a bit. If a genin had done this much damage, how strong could his sensei be?

Haku continued to look around the newly barren landscape, trying to learn anything he could about boy. He noticed that the burnt scars on the trees danced with electricity every so often.

'He is obviously very dangerous' thought Haku. His hand moved slowly towards his neck, 'should I kill him? Can I?' he thought.

Zabuza had often told Haku that his empathy for human life was what stopped him from being a perfect tool. Haku had yet to kill a single person under Zabuza's command and only hoped he could keep it that way for the upcoming fight.

Just as Haku was about to reach the boy's throat, he began to shake violently. He rolled out of Haku's grasp. Haku was afraid that he had been caught, but his worry left him when he realized that the boy was still asleep.

The feelings of worry returned when the boy started to mumble, "They were right…I am a monster".

Haku, after living in Kiri during the Bloodline Purges, was completely opposed to the word 'monster'. He decided to shake the boy awake and learn what had spooked him so much.

As the young shinobi started to open his eyes, he quickly began to look around at his surroundings. When is eyes fell on Haku, Haku put on a warm smile, "Hey Nemuiatama, is everything ok", he asked in a soft feminine voice.

The boy looked straight at him for five seconds before shrieking "Josō", and back pedaling towards a tree.

A tic mark appeared on Haku's head, "excuse me? What did you just call me?" he said rather heatedly. The boy acted as if he had not heard him, and proceeded to check his body, after two minutes, he sighed and relaxed, "Oh thank god I woke up before anything could happen", he said happily.

This only caused Haku's tic mark to grow, "And I ask again, why did you just call me a Josō? I'll have you know that I am one hundred percent straight", he said, turning his head away in a huff.

The blond just gave her a deadpan stare, "Says the boy dressed in the pink kimono", he said blandly, to which he only got a growl in return.

The boy sighed, "Alright, I apologize for calling you a cross-dresser, my name is Naruto, what is your name?"

Haku turned his head around, still irked about the cross-dresser comment, "Haku, it is a pleasure to meet you, Naruto-san", he said, turning to face Naruto again.

Naruto gave him a foxy grin, "Pleasure's all mine, Haku-chan", he said, making Haku glare at him again.

"I thought we went through this, I am a boy", Haku snapped back. Naruto just gave him another deadpan stare, "If you are going to dress like a girl, I'm going to treat you like one".

Haku continued to glare at Naruto, until he let out a sigh of defeat, "Well this is half my fault, and I should know not to wake up weird boys laying in the forest surrounded by fire and destruction".

Naruto looked around and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Heh, sorry. I was letting off some steam from last night".

Haku gave him confused look, but decided to delve further. "When I arrived you were shaking and mumbling about not being a monster. Is that what you were angry about?"

Naruto's eyes widened, but quickly lowered to the ground, "No, that was not from last night, that was from a few days ago", he said with a somber look.

Haku leaned in a bit closer, "What happened a few days ago?" he asked, genuinely curious. Naruto just continued to look at the ground, "I got my first kill", he said simply.

Haku gasped, that was what was bothering him? He too had had nightmares about the people he had hurt, but to have one about a person who you stole a life from, it must be far worse. Continuing to play the innocent civilian, he asked, "But I thought shinobi kill all the time, I thought that you would have prepared yourself for it".

Naruto chuckled dryly, "Being prepared, and actually going through it are two whole different things. Yes, I know that if I hadn't killed him, Mi-chan would have been dead, but it still doesn't excuse how ruthless I was. I killed him in the first attack, then continued to injure his corpse", said Naruto as he looked down, "It made me feel like a true monster".

Haku looked sadly at the genin, he had also had similar thoughts about killing, and had created his own mental wall against such thoughts. He gave Naruto a serious look, and asked, "Do you have precious people?"

Naruto looked at him in surprise before nodding, "Hai, I have my senseis, my teammates, and my friends", he said.

Haku did not break his stare, "Would you kill to protect them?" Naruto shut his eyes and sat still for a moment before opening them, a new fire burning inside them, "Hai, I would fight an entire army by myself to keep them safe".

Haku gave him a smile, "Than you will become strong, for I believe that those who protect their precious people will become strong, and if you kill you must remember that you kill for the people closest to you".

Naruto thought back to the first lesson Rakki had taught him; he grew a small smile, which soon became a grin, then a light chuckle, and finally a laugh. When he had recovered he gave Haku a smile, "Thanks Haku-chan, I really needed that".

Haku gave him a smile back but on the inside he was frowning, he might have to kill the boy who was so like himself. As he got up, Haku grabbed his basket; "Well I have to go gather more herbs for my friend. Goodbye Naruto-kun".

As he began to walk away, Naruto called out to him, "Haku". He turned around and saw that Naruto was now looking at him with an impassive stare, "When we meet again, it is quite certain only one of us will be making it out alive", Haku's eyes widened, and began to position his hand on the kunai hidden in his sleeve.

"But when we do meet", Naruto said, giving Haku a smile, "I would rather remember you as you are now, a friend, rather than an enemy, so who ever wins, good luck", raising his hand for a shake.

Haku stared at the hand for a moment before tentatively reaching out and shaking it. As he shook, Haku looked straight into Naruto's eyes, "You do know that I could kill you now, and end the trouble for Zabuza-sama right now". Naruto just looked back at her with the same impassive stare, "And what's to say that this is the real me".

As soon has he finished, Naruto erupted into a puff of smoke, leaving a startled Haku, pondering over his last words.

* * *

><p>As Naruto walked back towards the house, he looked at the slowly rising sun. 'Must be at least 5:30, no one in the house will be up until around 7'. His talk with Haku had really lifted his mood. In an attempt to stop the others from worrying about him, Naruto had tried to hide his feelings about the killing altogether. He was lucky that Konoha was here so he could pass off his odd behavior towards them.<p>

As he neared the house, Naruto tried to be as stealthy as possible, making sure not to wake anyone inside. When he entered, he noticed a small bulge on the couch.

Closer inspection showed it to be Yugito, sleeping in an awkward position. Her body was curled into a small ball on one of the cushions, using her upper arm as a rest for her head.

Naruto looked at her, 'She must have been waiting all night' he frowned, he did not mean to make his team worry, all he was trying to do was blow off some steam. He was about to walk back to his room when he saw Yugito shiver.

Naruto smiled, before removing his jacket, and placing it around her. She seemed to snuggle up towards the warmth of the coat. As Naruto continued to tuck her in, Yugito's arms reached out and grabbed his waist.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, and tried to gently prod Yugito off of him, however, she had a tight grip. "Mmm, Sushi" she mumbled in her sleep, pulling Naruto to the couch to be her pillow.

Realizing that he would not be moving until morning, Naruto sighed and got comfortable, this was going to be a weird wake up.

* * *

><p>Ramen and foxes, those were the first things that Yugito smelled when she awoke. A small cold breeze tickled her face, making her push her face deeper into her warm pillow. She quickly realized that her pillow was the source of the smell, getting a lungful of the smell. Her pillow was very warm, as if it had a fire in its core, and the heartbeat was like a lullaby slowly pushing her towards blissful sleep.<p>

'Wait…heart beat?' Yugito thought. As she peeked her eyes opened, her gaze fell upon a sleeping Naruto. That gave her some reassurance.

She had been waiting for him to return all night. In truth she was worried about him. She knew that it was rough being in so close contact with the people who had made his childhood a living hell, but also had heard some of his nightmares about his first kill. But what was he doing sleeping on the couch?

Realization dawned on her face as she looked at her 'pillow'. In truth her pillow was Naruto's waist, very close to his groin. Her checks became deep crimson as she looked at the position they were in. Her head was buried deep into his stomach and his arm was on her shoulder in a protective gesture.

Yugito quietly tried to get up without waking up the other blonde. Slipping in and out of high security buildings for a prank? Easy. Slipping out from a friend's comfort? Nearly impossible.

As she tried to move her arms away from the sleeping blonde, Kami in all her glory decided that now would be the time that Naruto shifted in his sleep. Shifted just enough to move Yugito's head to his zipper.

Yugito was now doing a perfect impression of a tomato. She felt IT. IT was by no means small, though she had never seen one, she was sure that IT was a bit bigger. This was the exact time that Nibi decided to wake up.

** "Morning Kitten,"** Nibi yawned, **"Did Naruto-Kun and Kyu-kun come back last night?"** Nibi then looked around at Yugito's current position, and after a few seconds of silence, she screamed, **"OH Kitten! I am so proud to see you finally taking Naru-kun! What brought this on? Oh tell me later, right now we have a sexy blonde that needs to wake up, and I know a fun way to do it that involves your lips, and that wonderful long pole of his!"**

At that moment Naruto's eyes fluttered awake. Still half asleep, he looked down and saw Yugito lying on his lap. "Hey Yugi-chan," he said with a yawn, what are you doing down there?"

Just then Yugito jumped from the couch, and socked him in the face. Still blushing she said, "Oh look at the time! I got to go train! Bye! See ya later!" she yelled as she bolted out the door. Darui walked in just in time to see Yugito bolt out the door, leaving a very confused Naruto rubbing his jaw.

"Hey Darui-sensei," Naruto asked, turning his attention to his teacher, "Will we ever understand women?" Darui sighed before taking a seat next to him on the couch, "I am going to tell you what my sensei told me when I asked that question. Did you know that there is a large book written by on of the world's most brilliant psychologists about the understanding of the feminine brain, but no one reads it. Do you know why?"

Naruto shook his head. "Because the pages are empty. Now give her some time and maybe later you will understand", said Darui as he got up to go and help set up breakfast.

* * *

><p>For the last week, Team 7 and 33 had spent the majority of their time training and watching the bridge. Naruto had begun to study the sub techniques of the <strong>Kage Bushnin no Jutsu<strong>, such as the **Taj****ū**** Kage Bushnin no Jutsu** and the **Jibaku Bushnin no Jutsu**.

Yugito had been focused on learning some powerful Katon justus that would hit enemies and make them stay down. She currently had mastered **Gokakyo no Jutsu**, and was working on the **Katon: Endan**.

Isamu had been focusing on his Doton techniques, mostly for support and defense, but did say he knew some offensive moves if the case called for it.

It had been two weeks since Team 7's encounter with Zabuza and his apprentice, more than enough time for him to heal from his injuries. The two teams had both started to go to watch the bridge.

Today, Yugito, Isamu, Darui, Sakura, Kiba, Sasuke, and Kakashi were all walking with Tazuna to the bridge. Kiba looked at the Kumo team, "Hey where's Naruto", he asked. Darui just gave a small sigh, "Kakashi and I decided that it would be smart to have one genin stay at the house, just in case Gato tries to pull a hostage situation".

When the teams arrived at the bridge they were shocked at the sight. All of the workers lay on the ground unmoving. Tazuna rushed to the nearest body, shaking him awake. "What did this to you" he asked the man frantically. The man struggled with his words, "A…a Demon", was all he managed to choke out before unconsciousness claimed him.

Laughter began to echo around the teams, "Like the welcoming I made for you," Zabuza's disembodied voice said. "And it seems that you brought more brats to their deaths," he continued, making Sakura shiver.

"They are more than ready for you, Zabuza, and with Kumo's help, your blood will decorate the bridge before noon", taunted Kakashi.

"Oh really?" the mist parted a bit, revealing Zabuza, the hunter-nin that had saved him earlier, and the demon brothers, returning from their previous capture. "Let's test that theory". Zabuza made a hand sign and **Mizu Bushnins** began to for from the mist.

Sasuke started to shake, Zabuza noticed this and laughed, "Looks like your student is shaking scared Kakashi", he taunted. Sasuke looked up and gave a dark smirk. "I'm not shaking cause I'm scared, I'm shaking with excitement".

"Sakura, Isamu and Kiba, guard Tazuna, Sasuke take out the clones, Yugito watch his back", barked out Kakashi. Team 7 nodded while team 33 looked to Darui for confirmation before following suit.

In a blur, Sasuke disappeared from his spot only to return with a wet kunai. All of the Zabuza clones burst back into water and Zabuza widened his eyes a bit. "Looks like we finally found someone who can match your speed, Haku," he said, glancing at his living weapon.

Haku remained motionless, "I am sorry to disagree Zabuza-sama, but our real threat is yet to arrive," he said, making Sasuke glare murderously at him. How dare he think that an Uchiha is not the greatest threat. "I make you think differently when my kunai is sticking through your neck", he replied angrily, before lunging at Haku.

There was a clash of metal, and Sasuke's kunai was being held back by Haku's senbons. "If you want to kill me you are going to have to try harder than that," said Haku as he pushed forward with his needles.

Sasuke jumped backwards then decided to engage the enemy in taijutsu. Throwing his kunai in Haku's line of sight, he used the minor distraction to get in close to begin to start a flurry of punches and kicks. However Haku saw through his plan quickly, dropping into his own stance, blocking against all of the assaults.

The fight moved deeper into the mist until they were barely visible, but the sounds of battle were crisp and clear. Darui turned his head towards Yugito, "Yugito, go and watch the Uchiha's back, anyone who has been trained by Kirigakure no Kijin should not be taken lightly", he said, keeping his eyes lazily on Zabuza. "Right," said Yugito, before rushing off after the duck haired boy.

Darui then turned back to Zabuza and drew his sword. "Though it may be dull, I suggest we team up to take down Zabuza, right, Kakashi", he said dully. "I couldn't agree more", said Kakashi as he uncovered his Sharingan, which spun wildly.

Zabuza just chuckled madly, and removed Kubikiribōchō from his shoulder, "Well, let the fun begin," he said, before rushing at his opponents.

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><p>Sasuke was starting to tire; this apprentice was better than he let on. Almost a match for an Uchiha. He then saw something in the mist that made him smirk, before launching away from the hunter-nin. Confused, Haku began to survey his surroundings, before he felt an incoming heat approaching from his rear. He rolled to the left just in time to see a fireball shoot past him.<p>

Yugito appeared out of the fog, smirking at Sasuke, "Wow, only ten minutes, you really got to work on your stamina". Sasuke glared at her, but returned his glare to the hunter-nin. Haku chucked, "Two on one? Isn't that a bit unfair," he taunted. Sasuke just smirked, "We're ninja, we never play fair".

"I see," said Haku, "well, I better stop playing with you then". The air around the bridge began to chill; the two genin's breath could be seen as the two took a stance.

"**Hijutsu: Sensatsu Suishō"**, he said, causing hundreds of small icicles to form out of the numerous water puddles, and fling themselves at the two genin. Seeing they were trapped from all sides, Yugito sent another, **Gokakyo no Jutsu** at one of the smaller groups of incoming needles, before dragging Sasuke behind it.

As the fireball got closer to the ice needles, they quickly began to evaporate into steam from the intense heat. As soon as they had gotten out of the needle deathtrap, they heard Haku's voice again, "It seems that you fell for it, **Hijutsu: Makyō Hyōshō**".

In seconds large ice mirrors began to form from the mist. Surrounding the duo in a dome. Everywhere they looked was a reflection of Haku. Sasuke tried to melt the mirrors by firing a **Gokakyo no Jutsu**, but the ice stayed strong.

"Shit," was all Yugito could say as thousands of senbons began to rain down on them.

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><p>Back to the fight with Zabuza, he was showing why he deserved his membership as one of the <em><strong>Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shū<strong>_. Even with Darui's help Zabuza proved to be quite the opponent. Not to mention with the help of the Demon Brothers, gave Zabuza the time to protect himself from the two jonin's attacks.

Darui blocked another slash with his cleaver sword. "At least this isn't dull", he said, glancing at Kakashi who at just kicked away one of the Demon Brothers. "There is a part of me that wishes it was", replied Kakashi as he threw some Kunai at Zabuza, forcing him to jump away from the Kumo Jonin.

When the air became colder, Zabuza looked to where Haku had disappeared. "Looks like Haku is through playing around. Your brats are as good as dead". "Oh, and why do you think that? I can tell you that Yugito is more than she appears," said Darui, baiting his opponent to give them more information.

"Because they are now caught in Haku's demonic mirrors, it has beaten ninja with twice as much experience and skill as your brats", explained Zabuza, before braking out in a maniacal laugh. "As soon as he kills your brats he will become my ultimate weapon, then I can continue on my one true goal," he continued.

"Too bad you will not live to achieve it", said Kakashi, pulling out a few more kunai and shuriken.

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><p>Sasuke was not fairing well. It had only been two minutes in Haku's prison but the two genin were looking like pincushions. Sasuke was barely standing while Yugito continued to bat away senbons, though was getting slower as more needles embedded in her skin.<p>

'This isn't fair' he thought as Yugito continued to fight on, 'Why is she stronger than me when I am an Uchiha, an elite ninja'. Anger began to surge through him, 'I deserve that power, I need it to kill him, I deserve it because it should be mine, it will be MINE'! After a surge of Chakra, the needles seemed to be getting slower, everything was clearer, Sasuke had activated the Sharingan.

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><p>Yugito was not fairing as well as she looked. She could feel the pain beginning to set in. 'Nibi, can you numb the pain anymore with your chakra?' she asked her tenant. <strong>"Sorry Kitten, but if I push anymore into you, you will go berserk, just try to hold on",<strong> apologized Nibi.

In a stroke of luck Sasuke had actually begun to fight back, significantly better than before, but Yugito could swear she saw two red tomoes. But all luck comes to an end when she finally collapsed from exhaustion and pain. Haku's image appeared in front of her.

"Though I do not want to kill in my heart, it is what Zabuza-sama wishes, and as his weapon, I will follow him until death," said Haku as she brought a kunai down. Yugito shut her eyes, waiting for the pain, but all she heard was a clang of metal hitting metal. When she opened her eyes, she was welcomed with the sight of Uzumaki Naruto standing over her body, two twin swords in his hands, protecting her from the previous falling kunai.

"What took you so long," said Yugito in a low voice. Naruto looked down and gave a small smile. "I was delayed by some of Gato's men".

**Flashback:**

Naruto was jogged from his sleep when he heard a small scream and a glass smashing on the ground. Grabbing his pouch, he silently moved down the stairs towards the kitchen. When he got there, the sight made his blood boil. Two of Gato's thugs were grinning madly at Inari who was staring at the scene shaking. One of the thugs had Tsunami by the hair.

"We are going to tell you one more time brat, get out of the way before we cut you down," said one of the thugs as he unsheathed his sword. "Get out of the way Inari!" yelled Tsunami, "I will do anything! Just please let my baby live".

"No! I am through running away and crying. They will just hurt me later if I let them by", said Inari, causing the thugs to chuckle. "The brat is smarter than he looks. Might as well kill you now, it will make breaking your mother's will and turning her into one of the alley sluts all the easier.

The first thug rushed at Inari while Tsunami screamed. He didn't get two feet before a large slice appeared across his body, before the top of his body fell onto the floor. The other thug's eyes widened as he stared at the boy standing on top of his dead partner with two bloody twin swords.

"I have no mercy for people like you," said Naruto as he disappeared from sight, only to reappear and cut the arm holding Tsunami off. He screamed but was cut off when a blade went through his mouth and out the back of his head, killing him instantly.

Naruto cringed when he saw the bodies lying on the floor, before remembering what Haku said. 'They threatened my precious people, I feel no regret for them' he thought before turning the bodies to ash with a quick Katon jutsu.

Naruto then knelt down to Tsunami and Inari, embracing as Tsunami cried tears of joy. "Are you ok?" he asked the two, when he got a nod. He gave Inari a smile, "That was brave Inari, but next time try to be brave with a weapon in hand". Inari gave a small sheepish smile making Naruto chuckle before becoming serious. He created a Shadow Clone to guard the family and rushed off to the bridge to assist his teammates.

**End Flashback:**

"I then rushed here, and by the looks of it got here just in time", he said returning his gaze to Haku. "So you rushed right into a trap, nice going Demon," said Sasuke, smirking at the blonde's moment of idiocy. Naruto just gave him a chuckle; "I am one of the few people who can be in two places at once".

"It doesn't matter, you will still not leave here alive," said Haku as he jumped back into a nearby mirror. He didn't stay there long because his danger senses forced him to jump away just as the mirror was sliced in half. 'What is this' he asked himself as he got to another mirror only to have to jump out again to avoid getting cut in half.

Looking back, Haku saw two Naruto clones standing on the outside of the mirrors. Suspecting that there were clones all around him, Haku created a mirror in front of him, sliding into his reflection. Now able to assess his situation, he noticed that while he had been preoccupied, Naruto had gotten Sasuke and Yugito out of his technique; the former had collapsed from to many senbons in his system, while the later was barely awake.

After making sure that they were both alright, Naruto returned his focus to the ice shinobi. "So it looks like we will indeed be fighting to the death, Haku, and as I said before, good luck," said Naruto dropping into a kenjutsu stance. "As to you," said Haku, creating some ice senbons in his hands.

Naruto quickly appeared behind Haku, and brought down a horizontal slash. Haku blocked it, but left himself open for a vertical attack from the other sword. Haku again blocked it, but with less force than before. This continued for a while, Naruto would slash and stab at Haku, who would block all he could, but the constant effort was wearing Haku down. With Naruto's enhanced stamina, and the fact that the Demonic Mirrors had taken out a fair deal of Chakra, it forced Haku on his last ropes.

"It is time we ended this," said Naruto sheathing his swords, he went through a series of hand signs. "**Fenikkusu Kaminari Bakudan"** he yelled, before exhaling a large dark red fireball, with sparks of lightning cackling around it. Haku, still tired from the constant strain of battle, tried to dodge it, but while jumping out of the way, it hit his feet, causing lightning to surge through him, pulling out a scream of pain.

When the fire died down, Haku's legs were charcoal black, sparks could still be seen jumping around him. His mask had fallen to the ground, revealing Haku's beaten feminine face. "It looks like luck was in my favor", said Naruto, as he drew his blades to give the finishing blow.

"So it would seem," said Haku, as he waited for his death as a broken tool. Just then he heard the sound of chirping birds. "Sorry Naruto-san, but there is one more thing I must do before I die," he said before disappearing towards his master.

* * *

><p>Back with Zabuza, Darui, and Kakashi, the two Jonin had managed to kill the Demon Brothers through the use of his summoning contract with the dogs. Zabuza was staring down his opponents until he felt a blast of malevolent chakra.<p>

"This Chakra," he started, "What is it". Kakashi's eyes widened in fear as soon as he felt the unique chakra signature, 'Kyuubi! Has he escaped the seal, or is it weakening'. Seeing his partner's expression, he decided to clarify, "The seal is still secure, and this is just a side affect from Naruto using his Kekkei Genkai. So why don't we finish this up," said Darui drawing Kakashi's attention.

Using Zabuza's distraction, Darui used his speed to get behind Zabuza and began to go through hand signs. "**Ranton: Reizā Sākasu,**" he yelled, firing several beams of light through a halo at Zabuza's back, making him turn to bat them away. At the same time, Kakashi's hand began to become covered with high concentrations of Raiton chakra, creating a sound similar to chirping birds. "**Chidori,"** he yelled, as he charged at Zabuza.

Before Zabuza could turn around, a body appeared at his back, taking the full front of the attack. Haku had jumped in the way, saving his master from death by offering his own. Naruto and a limping Yugito then came out of the mist to see the dead body of Haku lying in front of Kakashi.

Zabuza, looked down at his apprentice. No emotion could be seen in his face. "Haku, you really were a faulty weapon," he finally said. Naruto glared at him, "He was not a faulty weapon," he yelled, at the A-rank criminal, "Haku just sacrificed his life to save you. Can't you even pretend like you cared"?

"We are weapons gaki, that is all we are," said Zabuza, "This is our life, and we fight until our last breath, for who ever pays the most". "That's not true," said Naruto looking at the body of Haku, "we may be seen as weapons, but a weapon can not love it's country, or show loyalty the same level that Haku showed to you. An emotionless weapon is about as useful as a normal kunai. Shinobi who retain their feelings can fight the odds to protect the ones closest to them. No matter what".

Laughter rang through the bridge, "What a speech, too bad no one else will ever hear it", came Gato's voice as he appeared out of the mist, backed by an army of bandits. "Good job weakening Zabuza for me, and thanks for offing the brat, would of made this a lot harder".

"Gato, what is this," yelled Zabuza in rage, glaring at the small man. "This is a business transaction," said Gato smugly, "Did you really think I was going to pay you? No I was going to kill you as soon as you were weak and present your head to the Mizukage as tribute for more funding".

Zabuza looked at Kakashi and Darui, "looks like we are no longer on opposing sides", he said earning a nod from them both. Zabuza, after getting hit with some stray bolts from Darui's jutsu, had lost most movement in his arms, leaving him practically defenseless. "Gaki put that kunai in my mouth," he instructed Naruto, "If I am going out, I might as well go out in style".

Naruto popped a kunai in his mouth before drawing the Kibas. "Do you really think I am going to let you be the only one to make this bastard suffer", he asked, giving Zabuza a fox like grin. Seeing the swords, Zabuza's eyes widened. "The Kibas! But how do you…" he stopped mid speech, realization dawning on his face with an insane grin. "Oh this is going to be fun", he said charging at the cowering bandits.

The next few minutes could be described as a slaughter on Zabuza's part. Cutting down bandits left and right, carving a path towards the small, scared shitless boss, before cutting his jugular with a powerful swipe. The bandits who survived were only run out of town by a group of ragtag citizens, armed to the tooth with pitchforks, shovels, any type of weapons they could find. When it was done, the bandits were either lying on the ground in puddles of blood, or well on their way out of Nami.

Zabuza finally collapsed on to the ground, with Naruto breathing heavily nearby. "You did good Gaki," said Zabuza between haggard breathes, "Ameyuri-chan sure does pick 'em". Naruto just gave a tired grin. As a last request, Zabuza had his body dragged to be facing Haku's corpse, wanting to see something pure before he died. It was after this that all of the energy that Naruto had used finally caught up to him, sending him to oblivious sleep.

* * *

><p>The next few days were a spark of revolution throughout the Nami. Gato's stores were raided, his supplies stolen, and all of his possessions returned to the town as 'compensation' for the suffering they had witnessed. Nami had regained hope of a better tomorrow, and the completion of the bridge was the priority of everyone. And along with Naruto's help with his shadow clones, construction breezed by.<p>

Yugito was in bed rest for about two days due to all of the nerve damage the senbons did, Naruto never left her side the entire time. He would normally send shadow clones to the bridge then stay with her and just talk. Yugito could truthfully say she enjoyed his company; much more could be said than for her roommate Sasuke, who was suffering a fate worse than death, a worried Sakura.

The day the bridge was finished, there was a huge celebration. Both teams were going to be the first to cross it, back to their homes. Kiba could not stop laughing at Sasuke's new 'look', which consisted of dyed purple hair, and a large red rash all along his body. Somehow, some poison ivy had gotten mixed up into his food, giving him a severe rash all over his body, including the insides of his mouth.

Inari was trying not to cry, as the heroes of Nami were about to leave. Naruto came up to him and patted him on the head, "It's ok to cry when you are happy," he said with a smile, "And besides, it is not like we will never see each other again".

As team 7 and 33 walked down the bridge, one of the workers called out, "So what are we going to name it". Tazuna looked up and gave a great grin, "Why the Super Sexy Tazuna Bridge of course," he said, but was only met with silence, making him look down in a dejected state. "How about the Great Naruto Bridge," asked Tsunami, getting some of the villagers to nod their heads in agreement. "Yeah," said Inari, "That sounds like an awesome name".

As the two teams gave their goodbyes, Kakashi gave an eye smile to Naruto, "Now don't be a stranger to Konoha, I know there are some people that you don't like but Hokage-sama and I would be more than glad to see you again". Naruto smiled at Kakashi, "Thanks, I'll make sure to drop a letter to Jiji". Kiba gave him a fist bump, while Sasuke humphed and started walking towards Konoha, with Sakura mimicking his actions.

When the Konoha team had left, team 33 walked to a small outcropping facing Nami. Isamu used a quick Doton Jutsu to create a small tombstone, which Yugito then used some Katon chakra to carve 'Haku' into the stone. Naruto then took out Kubikiribōchō and stabbed it into the ground. The three then gave a small bow and prayer, before heading back to Kumo, completely unaware of what their short meeting with the Konoha team would have on them.

* * *

><p><span>Nemuiatama:<span> Sleepy Head

Josō: Cross-Dresser

Kirigakure no Kijin: Demon of the Mist

**Fenikkusu Kaminari Bakudan:**Phoenix Thunder Bomb (My own creation)

**Ranton: Reizā Sākasu:** Storm Release: Laser Circus

**So Yes, Read and Review, I will try to write when I can, but I will definitely be better than last time about updating. **


	10. Revelations

**Plans about Story:**

**Hey long time no see, So as a lot of you know, FF is beginning to enforce the rating policy for M rated stories. Since my story has not been hit, I see no reason to think about moving sites. (Mostly because the other ones are just so hard to navigate). I did have some plans for some lemons, but I think that if authors play by the rules now, it will return to the previous lax system, and I can write them later. So if I don't get any messages from the administrators, I will not move my story. **

**Have Fun**

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><p>Disclaimer: I do not Own Naruto, I am not that rich<p>

"That's not funny" - Normal/Human speech

'That's kinda funny' - Thinking speech

"**I really hate you"** - Demon, Summon, Jutsu, etc speech

'**That's not funny'** - Demon, Summoning thinking speech

* * *

><p>Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kiba sat in the waiting room outside the Hokage's office. They had gotten back a few hours ago and were waiting to give their report of their C turned A rank mission. To pass the time, Kiba played with Akamaru, Sakura gazed at Sasuke, and Sasuke just glared out the window.<p>

Kakashi was seemingly reading his book, but on the inside he was picturing every way this meeting could go. He knew how much the council hated Naruto, and when they found out that not only was he alive, but part of the Kumo Shinobi ranks, they could be willing to risk war to either kill or control him.

The secretary came out with three envelopes. "Here you go, Shinobi-san, your paychecks may be raised or lowered depending on the debriefing," she said, handing an envelope to each of the genin. She then turned to Kakashi, "Hokage-sama is ready for you now Kakashi-san. Your paycheck has been moved to your account," she said before returning back to her desk.

Kakashi nodded before looking at the genin team, "You guys are done for now, we have a two week recovery period from our mission, so use it however you see fit," he said gaining nods from the teens before walking to the Hokage's office.

When he entered the office, he saw Kurenai waiting for him, along with Sarutobi smoking a pipe at his desk. Sarutobi looked up and gave a grandfatherly smile to Kakashi, "Ah Kakashi-kun, how was your teams first C-rank mission? Kurenai-chan is here to hear of her own genin's performance."

Kakashi bowed before looking at Sarutobi with utmost urgency, "It was quite eventful, Hokage-sama, but I discovered something very important that should not be heard by unworthy ears," he said, making Kurenai and Sarutobi's faces become serious. The Hokage sent out his ANBU and activated the office's privacy seal. "Now Kakashi, what happened on your C-rank?" asked Sarutobi.

Kakashi nodded before starting, "We were assigned to protect the bridge builder, Tazuna, from bandits and such on his way to Nami, and until the completion of the bridge. About two days out I noticed a puddle of water in the middle of the road. I knew it was a trap, but needed to see who it was for. As soon as we passed over it, the Demon Brothers staged an attack on Tazuna," Kurenai's eyes widened slightly, while Sarutobi stared on, imploring Kakashi to continue.

"Sasuke and Kiba were able to subdue the two missing-nins enough for me to step in and defeat them," continued Kakashi. "After interrogation, I discovered that Nami had been being controlled by Gato, of Gato industries, and was abusing the town and its people. The brothers were hired to kill the bridge builder before he finished to keep the citizens in line, and not lose the monopoly they had on trade ports. After confronting Tazuna, he admitted that he signed up for the C-rank because that was all he and his family could afford. My team then took pity on him, and continued the mission."

Sarutobi looked at Kakashi with a hardened gaze, "You were right to say that this is interesting, Kakashi, but I fail to see why you placed a privacy seal."

"I am getting to that," said Kakashi, before continuing, " We continued on until we met another shinobi under Gato's payroll, Momichi Zabuza, or the **Kirigakure no Kijin.**" Kurenai's eyes widened further, while Sarutobi took another puff of his pipe. "After a long strenuous fight, which included the use of my Sharingan, I was about to kill Zabuza when a hunter-nin took him out and thanked us for weakening him. He then pointed out a team of Kumo-nin that had been watching the fight, making them reveal themselves. They stated that they were also hired to guard Tazuna, and that since they had been the closest genin team to the area, were chosen to assist," said Kakashi, who was now hardening himself for the next sentence.

"The team consisted of Darui, the team sensei, Nii Yugito, Sho Isamu, and…Uzumaki Naruto." Sarutobi's eyes were almost out of his sockets, and Kurenai was stuttering. After Sarutobi was able to control himself a bit, he asked, hoping against hope that his surrogate grandson was still alive, "Kakashi, were you able to confirm this, was it really him?"

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, I was able to look at him with my Sharingan, there were no seals, no genjutsus, and I even saw his whisker marks. We are dealing with the real Uzumaki Naruto."

Kurenai took this time to speak up."Is he here? How is he? Does he know about his parentage?" she said, showing more emotion than she had when it was announced of his supposed death.

Kakashi looked sadly at her, "No, he is not here, even though I wish he was. He is now a Genin of Kumo, and from what I can tell, loves his new home and friends very much." Kurenai looked down at the floor, sad that she could not see the boy who she had been dying to get to know.

Sarutobi also looked saddened. He would have been overjoyed to see the blonde boy; it would of brought tears to his eyes. "Kakashi, what are his opinions on Konoha?", he asked, dreading the answer.

"While Naruto shows no hate towards Konoha itself, he seems to highly dislike the people here, excluding you, myself, Kiba, and the Ichirakus," said Kakashi, who then turned to Kurenai, who seemed even more depressed that her name was not on the list. "Don't worry Kurenai, though Naruto may dislike the majority of Konoha, you can still get to know him and be a part of his life like I am. He seems to know of his Uzumaki heritage and if you told him that you were one of Kushina's students, he might give you a chance," he said with an eye smile, making Kurenai give a small smile of gratitude back, inwardly making a vow to get to know Naruto.

Sarutobi gave a small cough to gain the attention of his two shinobi. "While I know we all would like to see Naruto-kun again, what can you tell of how he got to Kumo, and his skill level?"

Kakashi looked back at Sarutobi with the utmost seriousness, "From what he told me, the day he was attacked, it was orchestrated by a woman with pink hair, most likely councilor Haruno, and then was taken into the forest to die." Kurenai and Sarutobi snarled at the woman's name, Kakashi ignored this and continued, "He then said that a Kumo shinobi, who he refuses to give the name of, rescued him, treated him, and offered to be his teacher in the shinobi arts. He then traveled with this man for a few years, before returning to Kumo to enter the last year of the academy. From what I can tell, the Jonin who found him was quite skilled. I would currently place Naruto's skills around that of a high chunin, and that is without his Kekkei Genkai."

This caught Sarutobi's attention. "Kekkei Genkai? Neither of his parents ever had one, so what are the specifics of this?" he asked, generally curious about his surrogate grandson.

"Darui mentioned it, saying that is called on the Kyuubi's chakra, but though I do not know what it is, I know it has something to do with fire and lightning, because when Naruto fought the fake hunter-nin, the body ended up with severe burns and lightning sparkling around it," said Kakashi. He then proceeded to tell Sarutobi about the discovery of how Zabuza was still alive, training his and Darui's teams, and defeating Zabuza and his apprentice.

When he was finished, Kurenai stepped up, "Hokage-sama, I would like to recommend myself to bring Councilor Haruno to justice for betraying you," she said, absolutely resolved to bring destruction to the one who had removed Naruto from the village.

Sarutobi shook his head, "That will not be needed, Kurenai-chan, I already have a plan to deal with her." This caused Kurenai to look irritated at not being able to do anything to the Haruno. "But from what I remember, you are friends with Anko-chan, who is part of the IT department. Maybe you can convince her to let you be a part of her interrogation". This made Kurenai gain a dark grin, before nodding thanks.

Sarutobi undid the privacy seal and flared his Chakra, causing the Tori ANBU to appear in front of him, "Tori, go gather the council members for an immediate meeting at 3. And tell them that if anyone is late, their clans will lose their position." Tori nodded, before using a **Shunshin** to go inform the members. Sarutobi then looked at his two jonin, "Kakashi-kun, your team will be compensated for an A-rank mission, but you will need to come with me to inform the shinobi council of these developments. Kurenai-chan, you might want to go and convince Anko to let you have a turn with the soon to be ex-councilor Haruno," he said, getting a nod from Kakashi, and a 'Hai' from Kurenai, who then rushed out to talk to Anko.

Sarutobi began to walk out of the office, "Come Kakashi-kun, wouldn't want to keep the council waiting, would we?" he said, making Kakashi follow close behind the elder kage.

* * *

><p>The council was abuzz about what the meeting would be about; all anyone knew was that it was important, as the Hokage would not threaten a clan's status if it weren't. The ninja council sat on the left side, while the civilian council sat on the right. The elders, including the honorary member, Danzo, sat across from the doors of the meeting hall.<p>

All talking was halted when the Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Jonin Shinobi, Hatake Kakashi, walked in. An arrogant civilian council member chose to be the first to speak, "Ah, Hokage-sama, may I ask why we have been called today at such short notice?" He froze when the legendary ninja placed a fair amount of KI on him, before moving up to his seat, with Kakashi right behind him.

"Now before we begin", started Sarutobi, "I believe it is important to get rid of the trash." With a snap of his fingers, ANBU appeared behind Councilor Haruno, and pushed her out of her seat, before using a **Shunshin** to appear with her in the center of the meeting hall, now sporting some iron handcuffs with small seals etched on the sides.

The Civilians and Elder were shocked by the sudden move of their Hokage, while the shinobi council's interest was peaked. "What is the meaning of this!" yelled the eldest pink banshee, "I am on the civilian council; you cannot do this to me!"

When Sarutobi spoke, his voice was cold, making some of the veteran ninja shiver. "Ex-councilor Haruno, you are accused of betraying this village and its military, how do you plead?"

"Not Guilty! Now release me", she yelled, anger evident on her face.

A dark grin rose on Sarutobi's face, "Well we are going to have to change that opinion aren't we? ANBU, take her to Ibiki's 'care'. And if a certain jonin wants to help, she has my permission."

The pink haired woman's face, and the face of everyone in the room, paled at the mention of Ibiki, she screamed and struggled with her chains as she was dragged out, only being cut off when the doors slammed shut behind her.

"Well now, that is out of the way," said Sarutobi, acting as if he had not just sent someone to be horribly tortured, "Let us get to business." Needless to say, after his demonstration of his power, the entire council was at attention. "As you know, the Chunin exams will he held here soon. I am even sure that most of your children will be participating this year," he said, getting a nod from the ninja clan heads.

"This year, I am going to invite Kumo to participate and attempt to create an alliance with them." His decision was met with cries of protest from the civilian council, the elders, and the Hyuga clan head, Hyuga Hiashi. However, they were all silenced with a blast of chakra from the elder Kage.

Hiashi was the first to speak, "I will have none of this! These are the same savages who attempted to kidnap my daughter and killed my brother! Why would we want a treaty with them in the first place!" he yelled, getting shouts of agreement from the civilian side.

Sarutobi looked him dead in the eye. "Hiashi, while I know that your clan has a history with Kumo, this is not about you, this is about us, and this village's protection."

Hiashi was about to speak again, but was interrupted by Shikaku Nara, "You seem adamant about this. What does Kumo have that we don't?" he asked, looking towards the Hokage for an answer.

Sarutobi nodded at Shikaku for his insight, "You are correct. As many of you know, during the Third Shinobi War, there were reports of a Kumo Jinchuriki who had gained complete control of the Hachibi. Later, there were reports of Kumo creating another Jinchuriki, this time, the Nibi no Nekomata. Today I have discovered from a completely reliable source, that they have gained another Jinchuriki."

This scared the entire council hall; no country had ever had more then two Biju, and with reports of a country having three and themselves none, it was quite disturbing. "But which biju do they possess?" asked Tsume Inuzuka.

Sarutobi looked right at her. "Their container is Uzumaki Naruto, and by extension, the Kyuubi no Yoko". The council erupted in a cacophony of yelling. Some yelled for war, while others demanded that they retake Naruto from Kumo. They were all silenced again when Sarutobi screamed, "ENOUGH!" laced with a heavy dosage of KI.

"Hiruzen," said Danzo, "I recommend that we try and reclaim the boy. He can still be a valuable weapon, just with training from Kumo, we would be getting power and information at once."

Hiruzen gave a bark of bitter laughter, "Are you really that foolish, Danzo?" he asked, getting a growl from Danzo. "The Kyuubi destroyed a large portion of the village, including a lot our own people on its own. Do you really think that we could protect ourselves from the Kyuubi, Nibi, Hachibi, and to top it all off, the Kumo military? We would be slaughtered even before the first move." The bluntness in his tone emphasized the idea.

"Also, kidnapping would be impossible. Kumo seems to treat their Jinchuriki with some decent amount of respect, unlike our own villagers. And added on to the fact that they have a perfect Jinchuriki, who could no doubt teach the other two as well, we would be walking to our own deaths. No, the only path we can take is peace. Not only that, it will recreate trade between our two nations that has not existed since the era of the Nidaime, something our economy sorely needs," finished Sarutobi, leaving no room for argument. "Now if the civilian and elder council would leave, we have some shinobi business to discuss. And if any of you talk about what has been said today, especially Uzumaki Naruto, you will be joining Ms. Haruno in the IT department," he continued. Begrudgingly, both councils left, leaving the shinobi council and Sarutobi.

"Is there something else about the Kumo treaty that you did not tell us?" asked Choza Akimichi.

Sarutobi nodded, "I trust you all remember the true parentage of Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked, getting nods. Sarutobi had told the council about Naruto's parentage as an SS-rank secret, about two years after his supposed death.

"What I didn't tell you is that his godfather is my student Jiraiya; when he found out that Naruto had died, he was heartbroken. If he finds out Naruto is alive, he might seek him out, but will remain loyal to the village. The real reason I am worried is his Godmother, Senju Tsunade," said Hiruzen, causing the council to gasp. "After the Kyuubi attack, I have reason to believe that Tsunade was tricked into thinking her godson was dead. I have suspected the elders and Danzo, but have found no proof with which to accuse them. Tsunade would have not left her godson to this- she was giddy with the thought of being a godmother. If she discovers that Naruto is alive in Kumo, and that the elders lied to her, that may well be the last straw for her, and she could leave Hi no Kuni to be with her godson."

The Shinobi council knew what that would mean; the village would lose its last true link to the Senju bloodline. Yes, while Tsunade was out of the village, she was still considered to be a loyal member of the hidden leaf. If she decided to move her clan to Kumo, all remnants of the two founding clans would be almost completely lost, save the last loyal Uchiha, who, even with the coveted Sharingan, was still just a genin. And while they would still have Yamato, it had been discovered though numerous tests that the Mokuton could not be passed down, and many were too human to repeat Orochimaru's actions towards another child.

Not to mention all of the medical knowledge Kumo would gain; Tsunade was not a legendary medic for nothing. During the Daisanji Ninkai Taisen, she had created antidotes to any poison thrown at her. Having her in Kumo would increase the production of highly trained Iryo-nin, able to dish out as much as they could cure.

Seeing that the Shinobi council understood the gravity of the situation, Sarutobi continued, "I see that you all understand the predicament. Inform your clan about my plan, and make sure that no one does anything drastic," he said, his eyes lingering on Hiashi near the end.

He then turned and began to walk towards the door, but just as he was about to leave, he stopped. "I know that this is not Konoha's finest moment," he started, gathering the attention of the clan heads, "But this is all we can do. Due to the ignorance of both the villagers, and yourselves, we lost a boy who not only contained the blood of two of our finest Shinobi, but also a beast that could level armies at will. We knew this, and yet our village's hate clouded our judgment, and we tried to make the poor boy's life a living hell. This is not a war we can win, we will not come out on top, we lost that chance years ago. All I am doing is trying to protect my village. Though I do not like all of them for their actions, I still love everyone who calls and once called this village their home, for that is my duty as Hokage. We have already lost; all I can do is try and recover as many pieces as I can to help us survive."

With that he left, soon followed by Kakashi, leaving the clan heads to think of how they were going to explain this to their clans.

* * *

><p><strong>4 days after Meeting in Konoha<strong>

After Team 33 flashed their ID's to the Kumogakure guards, they began to walk to the Raikage's tower. Naruto, with his mask, to Yugito and Nibi's displeasure, covering the lower half of his face, said, "God, Aya-chan's ramen sounds so good right now. I am going to eat half miso, and half pork. Or maybe, half miso, quarter pork, and quarter shrimp. Or maybe-" he was cut off when Yugito knocked him on the head.

"Baka, there are other places to eat besides Aya's, and other things to eat besides ramen, like sushi."

Naruto gave her a pleading look, "But it's ramen, it is liquid awesome, and if I don't have it, my awesome supply will run out! Come on Yugi-chan."

Yugito just looked back at him with a smirk, "Awesome or not, you still have to buy me sushi for four more weeks," she said, making Naruto look down to the ground in depression, which made Yugito laugh.

When the team finally entered the Raikage's tower, they saw Mabui sitting at her desk. She was a dark skinned woman with green eyes and light gray hair. Currently, she had her hair tied in a bun, but leaving two bangs to fall on either side of her face. As the Raikage's assistant, she wore the standard uniform: a long sleeved black shirt along with a black skirt, accompanied by some earrings and sandals.

"Ohayo Mabui-nee, is Ero-Densetsu ready for us," he asked. During Naruto's stay in Kumo, due to all the pranks he and Yugito pulled, he had gotten close to Mabui. She had even treated him to ramen once, which she vowed to never do again because later, she had to work overtime to compensate for the cost of the meal.

Mabui giggled, "You know, I don't think A-sama likes it very much when you call him that," she lightly chided, secretly liking the name as well. Naruto just shrugged, "If I didn't call him it, who else would, plus if he can survive Kirabi-sensei's raps, then calling him Ero-Densetsu won't hurt."

Mabui just sighed, before pressing a button on her desk to inform the Raikage of visitors. When the light above the button turned red, she looked back at the team. "Raikage-sama will see you now," she said, earning a nod of thanks from Darui, before leading the Genin towards the door.

A was sitting at his desk, seemingly working on the mountains of paperwork that came with his position. When he noticed Team 33 waiting in front of him, he gave them all a bored glance. "Have an interesting trip?" he asked.

Darui nodded, "Hai, both missions complete, first the C-rank in Yu, then the C turned A in Nami," he said, while his students stayed silent. A nodded, "Yes, I heard a bit about your mission in Nami already, heard you had an unexpected meeting with a Konoha team," he said. Seeing some looks of confusion on his shinobi's faces, he picked up a small carrier scroll amongst the piles of papers on his desk. On the ends of the scroll, were the seals for Konoha. "A little bird told me," he said humorlessly.

A got up from his chair and walked to look out the window. "Imagine my surprise when I got a hawk from Konoha, not only telling me of your involvement in a C turned A rank mission, but also inviting Kumo to participate in the Chunin exams being held there this year," A said as he looked down at the people walking below.

Turning to his team, he said in a commanding voice, "I am sure they left some parts out, but I will trust my own ninja to tell me what happened."

Darui then began to explain every detail of the trip, from the bandit camp in Yu, to the battle with Zabuza. While he retold their mission, A's face betrayed no emotion. When he was done, A turned to three genin, "What were your opinions on the other Genin, don't let your formalities hinder the truth."

Isamu was the first to speak, "As a team, they appeared to fairly green Genin, most likely their first C rank out of the village. I do remember that the Inuzuka was a part of another team, but was working with this one for the mission. The Inuzuka was brash and stubborn, but did show genuine care for his teammates as a shinobi of Konoha. The jutsus he used were obviously from his clan, and showed a proficient mastery of some of the medium rank Taijutsu styles. The kunoichi, if you could call her that, was lacking in both Tai and Ninjutsu, following the Uchiha member like a lost puppy. While she was no doubt smarter than her other teammates, she is still little to no threat. The Uchiha is without a doubt trained well, showing high skill in both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, which is strengthened by the Sharingan. My impression was that he is merely in Konoha because of its attachment to the Uchiha clan, and that it serves his personal goals." When he was done, Isamu returned to his original space.

A turned his attention to Yugito, who took a step forward, a rare serious expression on her face. "The Genin's performance was well below ours, it is actually surprising to think they come from the presumed strongest hidden village. The Inuzuka could be a great tracker someday, but that girl is a horrible excuse for a kunoichi. Hell, even Yuriko-shofu could kick the crap out of her without barely trying. Without that brain of hers, I doubt she ever would have graduated. And the Uchiha is a dick. No question there, he will do anything to come out on top, with his teammates or not. I wouldn't turn my back on him unless he was behind an iron cage and had a prison seal placed on his back," she said with a lot of aggravation in her voice. When she was finished she returned to her spot next to Isamu and Naruto.

A turned his attention towards the masked teen, eagerly waiting to hear his opinion. "Well, what did you think, gaki," he said, not really asking, but telling Naruto to answer.

Naruto was still for a moment before he took a step up, "As Yugi-chan said, it is really surprising that they were Genin from the so called strongest Nation, but as Isamu said, I believe that this is mainly because they were brand new. They all seemed a bit hostile towards us in the beginning, namely for the Kumo/Hyuga incident, but some like Inuzuka Kiba, and their sensei, Hatake Kakashi seemed to lighten up as temporary teammates."

A and the rest of the team just stared at Naruto as he continued, "Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, no doubt carry the Will of Fire, a trait which Jiji told me all great Konoha shinobi have. If he continues to train, he will no doubt be a powerful tracker. Sakura is just as Yugi-chan said, a useless excuse for a kunoichi. I would have guessed that she joined the Konoha force just to be with the Uchiha. She is no doubt related to the woman who orchestrated the attack on me when I was six." Isamu, Yugito, and Darui's eyes widened a bit when he spoke of the relationship between Sakura and the woman who had tortured him.

Seeing the looks he was getting, Naruto explained, "I did not want to bring it up, namely because while Haruno-san is related to that woman, she had no involvement in my attack. Blaming her for something her mother did would be just like the villagers blaming me for Kyuubi." Hearing this the eyes of his teammates softened, and A, who had not changed his facial expression then entire time, waved his hand for Naruto to continue.

Nodding, Naruto continued, "Uchiha Sasuke…is one of the few people I despise," he said, causing A's stare to harden. Naruto began to look at the ground, not meeting anyone's eyes, his hands balled into ever tightening fists. "He has almost no respect towards his teammates or others, simply because of his blood. He views others as beneath him, even if the other is stronger. If someone is stronger than him, he takes it as an immediate insult to his pride as an Uchiha. Kakashi even told me something, a motto he lives and bases his shinobi lifestyle around."

Naruto looked back up into A's eyes, allowing him to see that his once sapphire colored eyes had hardened into a dark blue. "In this world, those who break the rules are considered to be trash. However, those who abandon their friends are even lower than trash," said Naruto, in the exact words of the one-eyed shinobi. "Sasuke Uchiha," said Naruto hatefully, his eyes flashing crimson for a moment, "is lower than trash. Each moment I was with him, I got to see more of what a model Uchiha was. The more I saw, the easier it was to understand why Uchiha Itachi murdered his entire clan."

Yugito, hearing enough, took a step forward and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto turned and saw Yugito's worrying catlike eyes staring at him, making him calm down. Giving her a nod of thanks, she smiled and returned back to her place in line, A inwardly chuckling at the situation, both happy that the two got along so well, and for having something to make fun of Naruto for later.

Turning back to A, Naruto took a deep breath before continuing. "If Kumo ever gets their hands on an Uchiha, I personally think that their overall arrogance and hatred for other clans would hurt us more than the Sharingan would help," finished Naruto.

A nodded, before asking, "And the sensei? Hatake Kakashi, what do you think of him," his voice betraying no personal thoughts. Naruto thought for a moment, "When he first saw me, he pulled out his Sharingan. But, instead of attacking, he merely looked me over, before saying that I was real, and covering his eye. He stayed away from me for the first night, but after that made attempts to get to know me. Not as a shinobi, or as a Jinchuriki, but as a person. I later recognized his hair as the same as one of the ANBU who was regular guardian for me. Out of all my guards, he was the one who would stop attacks before they began, and if he was late, take me to the hospital. He is one of the few Konoha shinobi that I could trust, besides Kiba, who if you get to know him, is not so bad. He even apologized for not being able to protect me enough. Frankly I think that he is trying to create a friendship with me not for the village's sake, but because it is personal." When Naruto finished, he stepped back next to his teammates.

A sighed before reaching under his desk and pulling out a 45 kilo dumbbell, which he started to mindlessly toss around in his hand, despite its weight. "Darui, your teams will be compensated for both missions, with the later one as an A rank. While you would normally have two weeks recovery time, you have three. Yours, along with Team 22, under Kirabi, and Team 30 under Takashi Manabu will be attending the Chunin Exams in Konoha next month. I was wary at first, but a team of genin who can accomplish an A rank on their second out of village mission is definitely someone who I want to represent Kumo at the exams," he said, getting 'hai' from Darui.

Turning to the Genin, he continued,"Now since this has been the first time Kumo has been in Konoha for a while, I want all Genin on their best behavior, especially you two, Naruto and Yugito. No pranking, got it, Gakis? No matter how much they deserve it, if I hear one word about anything being painted purple or orange, I will tie you both to a chair and have Kirabi test his new raps on you." Yugito and Naruto paled as the heard the punishment, making a quick and stiff salute before saying 'Hai'. Seeing this made A grin madly.

"Now I recommend you use this month to stock up on anything you need. Only light training, so I am putting your Biju training on hold. Do you understand?" A yelled getting a chorus of 'hai'.

"Then you are dismissed. Darui will remain behind to go over other aspects of the mission and fill out your chunin exam forms." Naruto, Isamu, and Yugito nodded before they started to leave the room. When Naruto was about to leave, he heard A's voice, "Gaki, hold on a sec."

Turning, Naruto gave him a mischievous glance. "Hai, Ero-Densetsu?" he asked, before having to quickly duck as the dumbbell impaled itself in the wall behind his head. "Stop calling me that, Damn it. I need you to come in tomorrow to go over something with my student and I about your upcoming trip to Konoha. Be here between 7 and 9 am," said A, a tick mark still on his head from the 'Ero-Densetsu' comment.

Naruto nodded, "Hai, it is between when the latest brothels close and the earliest hot springs open." Seeing A nod, Naruto took his leave, waving goodbye to Mabui, and leaving the building.

When he got outside, he was surprised to see Isamu and Yugito waiting for him. Yugito grinned, "Did you really think that we weren't going to celebrate kicking ass on our first A-rank AND going to wipe the floor with the Konoha brats in the Chunin exams? Uh uh, tonight we party, because after that, we train until we fall," she said, slipping under Naruto's arm. Naruto smiled, and nodded, before walking with his team to the nearest store that sold excess amounts of ramen and sushi, all the while with Yugito under his arm.

* * *

><p><span>Daisanji Ninkai Taisen:<span> Third Shinobi World War

Iryo-nin: Medical-nin

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